Comments on: Song’s top of the charts for Arsenal

By: voodoochilde

voodoochilde — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:28:27 +0000

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.

By: MDH

MDH — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:36:57 +0000

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.

By: BD Condell

BD Condell — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:46:01 +0000

Bloody hell!….Arsenal fans have suddendly come out of their 4 year slumber. Hope they won’t be disappointed….poor luv’s.

By: 442news

442news — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:48:15 +0000

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

By: Eurasian Sensation

Eurasian Sensation — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:37:22 +0000

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.

By: erwf

erwf — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:38:19 +0000

I guess Andys never heard of ‘IMPROVEMENT’ before….

By: JR's Ghost

JR's Ghost — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:17:04 +0000

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.

By: jayojay

jayojay — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:50:09 +0000

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.

By: Alastair

Alastair — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:30:27 +0000

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

By: Alastair

Alastair — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:25:46 +0000

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…