With Alex Song in inspired form, it begs the question who will replace him when he leaves for the African Cup of Nations in January?
The obvious candidates are Abou Diaby and Denilson. In my opinion, they are not good enough to play every game for Arsenal. They are great squad players, with lots of potential. However, not many titles and shiny trophies are won with potential players being given a go. Sure, a few are given a chance and take it.
I don’t think that they have really seized the opportunity that Arsene Wenger has privileged them with. He has stuck by them but both give the ball away and no way should they be trusted to protect the defence.
The defensive role has become probably the most important role as the game has developed, almost becoming an undetectable player (think Busquets in last season’s Champions League final). They should break up potential attacks from the opposition and the work they do is tireless. Not only do they stop easy access to centre backs, they give the ball to flair-tastic players who hope to build moves themselves. They are unsung heroes but without them, nothing is achieved.
Claude Makélélé invented the role and did it fantastically at Real Madrid and Chelsea. Now, every top quality team has a defensive player in the starting eleven. Arsenal had one in Vieira and then Flamini. Since then the closest they’ve had to the Frenchmen is Alex Song. He has improved so dramatically, and Arsenal look unsafe without him. T
he game against Wolves was a sign that Diaby won’t cut it. Wenger wanted to see if his team could cope without the defensive lynchpin and it turns out, they couldn’t. Denilson still has to come back from injury and may improve but I think the only candidate there can be is the rugged Samir Nasri.
It may seem strange considering he plays as an attacking midfielder or on the wing, but he has quick feet, can tackle and is strong. He is usually one of Arsenal’s most hardworking players always runs and runs for the cause. He also gives Clichy a bit of protection down the wings so there is no reason why he can’t do it in the centre. Him and Cesc Fabregas could really tick.
He gave us a hint of his talent in the position when he was deployed there in the semi finals of the Champions League against Manchester United, one of the few to come out of the game not criticised. It would also give Arsene Wenger the chance to field all his stars in the starting line-up. He is very young, and has bags of talent and could help Arsenal in the absence of Song.
I almost forgot, Wenger could actually sign someone in the January transfer window! He tried to sign Melo, now of Juve in the summer, but in my opinion Song has repaid the faith Wenger has shown. If Arsenal are no longer in the Carling Cup, he could give youngsters Craig Eastmond or Coquelin a chance. Surely that would be a little too much to ask of the up and coming starlets? It’s a definite possibility, should injuries pile up, but won’t be the first choice Arsene will consider.
I recently heard that Darren Fletcher was the most improved player in Europe. I don’t know what so great about a player who continues to kick and commit fouls and somehow has escaped a red card this season. If you’re looking to heap praise on a up and coming defensive midfielder, look no further than Alex Song. Arsenal, however have problems as no player comes close in his position. It will be interesting come January.
Good post,
As a gooner I’m very worried about Arsenal when Song leavs for ACN. Just hope Cameroon goes out early.
so sorry couldnt finish reading your article cos Wenger had said Nasri wouldnt be playing as a defensive midfielder becos he is too attacking. End off.
we also remember early last season Song was one of the players that wasnt fit enough to wear the Arsenal shirt and now its Diaby & Denilson.
i think its best to encourage are players and how the realise whatever the Manger see in them quickly than what we assume they should be based on what we see with others and expect them to be just that.
Umm, What about Aaron Ramsey? Surely he would be put in ahead of Coquelin or Eastmond.
I agree that Denilson and Diaby just don’t cut it. I think if we play a midfield three it has to be Ramsey, Nasri & Cesc. But I can’t see AW ‘hurting’ either Denilson or Diaby’s feelings by moving the the Welshman up the pecking order. I like the other more exiting option you mentioned, Cesc & Samir in the middle with four from Arshavin, Rosicky, Vela, Walcott, Eduardo, RvP & Bendtner, and maybe Jack may get some playing time, especially when we have our now common three goal cushion.
The African nations is not all bad for us as the only team that I feel is stronger than us, Chavski, will lose key players and my hope is that it is their undoing, there will be games that they drop points and we need to stay on their heels and capitalise when that happens, we need to show a ruthless instinct that is the only thing we have lacked in recent years.
I am an Arsenal fan myself. However, I think you have made the mistake of allowing a physical player, who tackles well in Darren Fletcher to negatively bias your opinion of him due to the fact that he played us off the park with effective, and proper physical play. Any team would do well with a player of his calibre in their squad.
Furthermore, I think you have failed to recognize that what he does for Manure is what Song does for Arsenal. He shields the back four well, and in possession he dictates the pace of the game with his distribution game. He can also chip in the occasional crucial goal, as evidenced in games against us, Chelsea and Manchester City. As you can probably tell by now, he is one of the few Manchester United players I rate.
By the way, I also believe that Nasri presents an interesting option in the Makelele position.
spot on. we all should be worried about the cameroonian’s absence. as you’ve mentioned, just look at the wolves game to prove the point. i always say diaby is shit; he’s not the kind of player you can rely on when the going’s tough. he may, (hear that?), may try to play well only when the going is good. denilson performs much better than diaby and is, to me, the person we might have to rely on while song’s away.
Well, over this months everyone saw Fab and RvP as main stars but I couldn’t help noticing how influential Song is. Last season I hoped he would get more time but AW focused on Denilson (who grew a lot but still not good enough for the 1st team).
Song has the strength and he learns quick where to sit in the field (which is the most important thing for a defensive midfielder). Sure he still makes mistakes (conceived a peno against West Ham, misses some passes) but overall he is the best in his position of the arsenal squad and has the potential to become a great defensive mid.
He is no Essien but he is better than Mikel.
Against Wolves it was obvious how important he is. Soon after he entered the field Wolves stopped harassing our defense and arsenal took over the game.
Seeing him knocking the wolves out of possession and using his body as a shield for the defense was more exciting than seeing our offense abusing the poor wolves.
So I think January will be a tough month for us but i hope denilson can do the job.
What a surprise a gooner having a dig at Darren Fletcher. Not the greatest footballer in the world, but has bags of energy and plays a simple game. It would be interesting to see how many free kicks he has given away in comparison to other players in the league.
I stand by the fact he is the most improved player in Europe, he’s gone from bit part player to probably 3rd name on the team sheet behind Rooney and Van Der Sar, Song probably that high in arsenal’s team sheet.
Don’t forget Denilson is improving and even Diaby (who I had written off earlier) is starting to pass the ball, track back and doing the simple things right.
Denilson is definitely up to the task. He’s a different type of defensive player than Song. He reads the game well and he covers position rather than player. He is also very sneaky in stealing and intercepting passes. He is also more creative than Song but lack Song’s upper body strength.
Didn’t people use to say that Song was a waste of space, that he’s no where good enough for Arsenal? Stop making stupid quotes and hypercritical comments. Get behind the team and the players.
Oh dear, I know its international week but boy am I tired of reading all these amateur attempts at arsenal team analysis, Nasri as a defensive midfielder?! Is that a joke? He’s very tenacious but sorry i dont think he’s rugged at all!
Im sure Song will be missed but like we all know cliche’d as it sounds Arsene knows best. He see’s these players day in day out in training and if he thinks they can cut it, then everything will be fine, Denilson, Diaby, even bloody Ramsey who i think was quite impressive in the wolves game before he was pushed further up when Song came on. To be honest if I had to give my opinion on the whole midfield lynchpin issue that so many gooners seem obsessed with, I think we already have a few players who can, and will fit into that role. The idea is that like Song they will all have to be given the chance to grow into the role because that is the arsenal way and the key is how we defend and play as a team to accommodate this, because as a team we are extremely attack minded, from almost every position, and part of this is that most of our players can switch positions easily, Its no coincidence that the goals are shared so widely in the team. So my point is anyone that will be going into that role is never going to be the one dimensional water carrying DM player that most people seem to be hankering for. From the looks of what wenger is doing its gona be a Diaby or Denilson or maybe even Ramsey player who will have to learn to be versatile enough to do that shielding role and of course do a lot more creatively which is why i said they will have to grow into the role. If you notice Song is on the other end of the spectrum, he’s better defensively, but he’s growing into a more creative versatile player and if you watch his interviews on arsenal tv thingy the onus is on him to improve that side of his game and get at least 8 goals this season which i think guys implies going forward a bit more! And to be honest I’m fine with that, i think people should stop trying over analyze the bloody thing and quit saying our boys aint good enough, just do what I and the players seem to be doing at the moment,sit the hell back and enjoy the bloody ride because that’s what the game is all about at the end of the day!! And yes we will kick ass and win something this season, quote me on that come May cause Jay Jay says so!!
Alex, there is no way u are an arsenal fan, if you can say that fletcher ‘he played us off the park’. Fletcher needlessly hacked arsenal players down (confident of his advantage with the refereee who did not even caution him). He also needlessly hacked down ashavin in the 18, and thus committed a penalty that was not given. I am not qualified to access fletcher’s overall quality, but from that arsenal game, he is a very average player who was smart enough to know that manU will do no wrong in the eyes of the ref of that day (a well known ManU fan for years).
But whats with ManU claiming quality, but suddenly now adopting Sam Alladyce’s ‘hack-them-down’ tactics when playing quality teams?
So Song is suddenly irreplacable when he wasn’t good enough just a couple of months ago????
Bullshit article
Considering Denilson was possibly our best player last season in the defensive midfeld position, I don’t know why anyone question’s him.
I don’t think Diaby is quite that type of player, and as far as the Wolves game is concerned I think people are missing a key point. Before Diaby got injured in that game he wasn’t playing the Makalele role, Ramsey was. So in fact is was Song replacing RAMSEY that tightened everything up. Ramsey then went on to have a fantastic game in the position Diaby vacated. I think it’s worth pointing out as it’s a good example of how certain players have become whipping boys for the fans despite, in some cases, the evidence.
I do entirely agree about Nasri as a possibility. He’s got that snapping at the heels mentality that Makalele had and has the advantage of also being more creative than many a defensive midfielder. I really like the look of Coquelin tho, and would love to see him get his chance soon…
And Jayojay, Wenger and Nasri have both already spoken about Nasri as a possible defensive midfielder so it’s hardly a controversial analysis. His build is very similar to Makalel
Oh ye almost forgot to add, erm… why in the world are we wasting our time talking about Fletcher?! Alright player, the foot massage i got off my 4 outa 10 in bed current bird last night was alright too but hey, not worth the column inches at all.
You pose an interesting choice for your reader — agree with your free-floating opinion that Denilson is not good enough with the proof of last year’s performances, consistency, and and excellence, combined with Arsene Wenger’s opinion of the lad.
Really hard choice to make. You should be a little embarassed.
Let’s look at this year — We opened the scoring for Man City, then tied them, then Denilson got injured and had to leave. The flood gates opened. As obvious a game changer as when Diaby went off the other day for Song.
The “conventional wisdom” of chronic skeptics and whingers like you has been that Song would never make it. Have you ever admitted how wrong you were? As players like Song, Bendtner, Denilson, Djourou, Gibbs and Diaby have progressed, where have you been? Negative until even you could be no longer? Then silent?
I don’t know what is in Wenger’s mind any more than you do, but I think one of the extra benefits for him in selling Kolo and Ade was that he would basically eliminate the impact of the ANC on the team. He knows how long it takes a new acquisition to blend in with the squad and integrate with Arsenal’s style of play, especially on offense and in mid-field, so while he can always surprise, the idea that he would buy in early January someone who is needed for the 6 weeks of Song’s absence is absurd. Maybe another defender — they can slot in easier, as Sagna, Gallas, and Vermalen have shown.
It will be Denilson. If he had been fit, I think we’d have seen more clean sheets and a win at West Ham, frankly.
I guess Andys never heard of ‘IMPROVEMENT’ before….
A combination of Denilson and Diaby might be an okay cover for song. Denilson is not as tough as Song, but he can keep things ticking over tidily and has the consistency that you want in that position. I don’t think Diaby can be trusted as a pure holding player, but with Song or Denilson alongside him he can be good.
Re: the comments to the effect that “Song was rubbish a while ago and now he’s indispensable?”
Song has improved at a rate no one would have guessed 18 months ago. Towards the end of last season he looked like he COULD be the DM we needed, and his improvement this season has been more rapid than anyone could expect.
song has become a major player, a really good holding midfielder, he will be hard to replace him, Denilson might take the role buut has to be consistent, Diaby is not my favourite player for this role. will see, hopefully Cameroon will be off the cup at early stage… in a beautiful world
Bloody hell!….Arsenal fans have suddendly come out of their 4 year slumber. Hope they won’t be disappointed….poor luv’s.
Good article and I fully agree with the sentiment that Denilson and Diaby aren’t good enough to play the role yet. For everyone talking about Denilson’s consistency, what consistency? Last season he was our defensive midfielder and we had the worst season under Wenger’s tenure. By no means is he a bad player. But I dont think he has shown in any shape or form that he can hold a midfield together, yet.
its very disheartening when Arsenal fans say things like they hope Cameroon don’t make it far in the ANC, because altho u might be sayin it tongue in cheek, its still negative. I think it would be great for Song to make it far in the ANC, this is the right time for him to show his strenth and what he has learnt from Arsene Wenger and also very important, that Arsenal’s threat is a serious one. It is important for our players to dominate at international level if we are to become the force we want to be. Anyways i think Denilson if fit, then Ramsey. I choose the latter because he still has some learning to do, and that is a very crucial position to bloody your nose in. He will have to be careful, and calculated and think about his defenders all the time. As a cover for Denilson, Aaron Ramsey will definitely get a go.