By Sandy
The creative talent that we have in midfield is undeniable and on our day we can out play any team in the world. But there is something that we have been badly missing this season and this is a strong imposing figure that solidifies the midfield.
Flamini played this role to a large extent last year as he swept things up in midfield and put in the crunching tackles when they had to be made. But sadly there is no one in the team at the moment that fills this role.
The likes of Denilson and Diaby have tried to play in that position but it’s not really the role they are suited for.
Denilson is far too lightweight whose tackling is simply not up to scratch while Diaby is fantastic going forward but nowhere near composed and assured enough in possession.
Someone who could potentially fill the role is Alex Song. He has really improved all aspects of his game over recent months. This includes tackling, heading and passing (forward not sideways).
His display against Hull the other night was his best in an Arsenal shirt. If he can continue with this rate of progress he could be in with a shout of holding down that position.
But is he really the solution or do we need to spend big money on a new defensive midfielder?
A player of Senna’s ability, strength and more importantly experience would be ideal as he would allow the more creative players to express themselves while he shores up the defence.
Senna has experience of playing at the top level and was one of the unsung heroes when Spain won Euro 2008. The solidity that Senna and Alonso gave in the centre of midfield was what let the more creative attacking players create and score goals.
Alonso was linked with Arsenal in the summer and would have been a fantastic player for us, as he plays the defensive midfield role very well at Liverpool just now.
Either of these players would not only be a fantastic addition to the team but would also be the perfect teacher for Song, who with a bit of work could make the defensive midfield role his own one day.
With the signing of Arshavin we really have added a new dimension to the team. He is not scared to run at players and 9 times out of 10 has the ability to beat them.
But one of the most important aspects he brings is his willingness to shoot from anywhere. Too often we try to pass through teams and Arshavin helps with this problem.
When all the players are fit and available for selection Wenger will have a real headache trying to fit everyone into midfield:
Cesc, Nasri, Diaby, Eboue, Walcott, Rosicky (hopefully), Song and Denilson all looking for a starting position in the team.
It sounds like a good headache to have until the time comes!
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39 comments:
Good player with some potential but Denilson is better.
If you think that Diaby is fantastic going forward you need to get another job
Denilson's tackling is statistically better than Song's, and he reads the game better.
Song was better against Burnley and Blackburn, though still very good against Hull.
Denilson is far superior to Song. He has played that role fantastically this season, brilliant tackling, interceptions, closing down angles and passing the ball very well.
Song has shown nothing more than decent ability and strenght. He does not have the brain to play that role, and he has never really been asked to act as out solitary defensive midfielder.
Denilson may have made a few mistakes, but who could expect one player to bear the responsibility of our midfield defending.
Either way, Denilson will continue to play in the team week in week out, he will stay in that role next season and a good few years after that.
Song's best performance was our FA Cup match against Burnley...
no question about it
At best he is a decent nationwide player,new man needed.
personally denilson and diaby are too lightweight. song is to young
i like to see wemgerhole make a swap for rvp/ade for diarra/huntalaar
but we all know wenger is a stubburn asshole and will not do that, so expect more disapointments
denilson is far much better at the moment
true, but you guys should go to this website,
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yep i do agree song has been playing some of his best stuff these last few games and if he could keep it up it would be terrific. if not however i feel we need to buy someone of a higher quality... swap deal bischoff + cash for veloso maybe... makes perfect sense. anyone else agree???
pritpal NO NO AND NO TO Veloso
Pritpal, I would agree with you if we needed a higher quality player and Veloso was any good.
So no, I don't agree.
Anyone who has watched Veloso play more than just Youtube would agree.
Denilson will be playing that position for many years to come.
What's this obsseission with Veloso? He's hardly set the footballing world alight, hasn't he? And remember he was starting XI for sporting who were beaten 12-1 against Bayern. I cannot understand "denilson can't tackle", when he, in fact, is the 7th best tackler in EPL and second in pass interception (1st: Clichy 118, and then 2nd: Denilson, 114). Does one of his tackle and interception counted as two?
Look at the stats, that's a better judge of the boy's performance than your eyes tainted by prejudice.
readung some of the rubbish written on here makes me laugh, as if most of you so called erxperts know better then wenger.
imagin calling someone like Wenger an asshole when most of you would know the firstthing about how to create a team or even manage a football club.
i bet most of you are jonnycumlately plastic glory hunters who demand instant success and you all know better then Wenger in how to achieve it.
ROTFLMAO!!!
Yes, Song could be the answer.. He needs to improve, but he sure looks like a Flamini-type to me here in Norway.. He can play in defender too...
Were you watching the same game on Tuesday? I was there and both Song and Diaby were very poor. They constantly gave the ball away hence the reason it took us ages to get going. Not until Nasri replaced Song did we really start to perform.
I agree Song has been better lately but all he is, is a squad player, in midfield you might get 1 or 2 good games from him in 10 but he isnt consitently good enough, he is better at centre back.
Denilson's work rate and form mean he is the obvious choice to partner Cesc for the rest of the season, when he returns.
Im fed up of this myth surrounding Diaby. Ive been watching him alot recently. He's terrible!!!can't pass/tackle/shoot!!He sometimes looks a good dribbler because he gets himself in tricky situations due to his lack of a first touch then sometimes manages to wrigggle out of them. And worst of all he seems to be Wenger ALWAYS seems reluctant to sub him even when the much improved alex song was playing twice as good as him against Hull.
Senna signed a new contract with Villarreal last summer and, at the time, he said that he had turned down the offer to join Arsenal, as he wanted to finish his career with Villarreal. He is already in the mid-thirties, I believe, so it really is a non-starter. Had he have been 28 and looking for a move abroad, he would have been ideal.
ALONSO!!! 1st you argue we need a tough tackling holding midfielder and then you suggest we buy the poor mans fabregas, and senna is too old now, maybe a couple of seasons ago. Although maybe ur right about song, its still early days
Yes Song could be the answer, but he has to play with 50,000 cynics on his back
For me Song is a better defensive midfielder than Denilson. His passes are also more accurate.
I would love to see him play with Fabregas, Arshavin, Nasri, Walcott with Adebayor and Van P up front. Back for picks itself
Fanner said .. Song is getting better and still has potential in him. Whereas Densilon is what he is now, just a decent player, just.
song could be the answer but he needs to be a bit more tenacious. he already got an imposing figure but unfortunately, he quite slow in making ground. oppositions can always see him coming and then can escape his challenge. flamini was very good because he was very quick to close down opponent. if song can read game a bit more faster then wenger don't need to buy anyone this summer.
Did anyone know Sienna at 21? and Veloso is crap, he is not a DM, I have seen him play a couple of times and didnt see anything special about him. SONG needs to be given time, maybe he is not the DM we need for now but he is going to be excellent at 24, Wenger know better to keep him. Look at the progress he has made since the beginning of the season....SONG is a v good player, he's going to make mistake at his age..that is normal!! Before 2006, no one knoew Marco Sienna!!!
Song has been good recently. My main gripp about him is that he tends to be disinterested. When tracking back, he casually jogs. At this pace he will struggle against fast attacking midfielders running from deep. He needed to up his tempo and learn to run. He is young, and I believe he could make a good DM in his mid twenties. Meantime, the BOss should buy an experienced DM; top priority.
I agree that Song did well in the last few games, but Burnley, Blackburn and Hull are not the benchmarks we should be using. He has been consistently exposed as too lightweight against the bigger teams.
Song cannot be the answer - an honest triar at best - nothing more - runs everywhere and reaches nowhere.
Gilberto didn't use to be seen running much but reached everywhere - that was anticipation.
Diaby, Song, Eboue, Denilson (may be), Bendtner, Gallas - all should be sold off this season - if can then Adabeyor as well and get one good striker, one defenive midfielder, two good centre backs
Gallas is our best defender no way he should be sold now. I would have agreed with you before the new year but he is now back to his best. I know Toure is our longest serving player and a fan favourite but he has been off form for over a year now and he gets away with it because people like him. Gallas is a better defender than Toure.
Why is everybody, okay most of you, talking about these guys like they are in the prime of their career. Song as well as Denilson are still developing.
Midfield is a very hard role to play either as an attacking player or defensive. Ballack was a few inches away from becoming a EPL flop and still isn't out of the clear in my opinion.
Maturity and skilled talent isn't always enough. Chemistry in your play is evenly important.
The point is that none of Denilson, Diaby or Song are the finished article yet. However, despite all taking some serious shit from the crowd at various times, they remain young players of huge potential. We only need one of them to fulfil that potential and we've got a partner for Cesc. They've all shown signs that that might happen at various times this year, and they've all grown and benefitted through the responsibility thrust upon them in Cesc's absence.
Worth remembering we've got Ramsey a few steps behind as well. Reasons to be cheerful I'd say...
No, Song is not the answer to Arsenal's search for a defensive midfielder. But, we can't do without someone like him against the uglys of this world (Bolton, Everton, Hull etc.) That's when the Swan Song should be sung. We all know, that for most games Cesk and Denilson (when they're fit) will be the preferred pair and Song will come in when extra muscle is needed, simple as that. Where are good old days of Ray Parlour have gone? Diaby needs to get over the Viera cult and try to find one position and stick to it (Wenger's rotating him all over the pitch doesn't help at all.) In the meantime, it's Villareal, ManUre and we're back to coliseum.
Great, more idiots going on about how we should get Veloso when you've probably never seen him play (not to mention the quality of the league he plays in is low).
Anon 8:11 is a complete retard, you can't just swap big players with massive clubs like Real Madrid you twat.
And why the fuck would you sell Eboue, Song and Bendtner when they've all started playing well recently and showing potential? The fact that you suggested Denilson and Gallas should be sold shows how much you really know about football.
Denilson's better than Song. He anticipates the game better, passes better and passes quicker and is faster. Song's better at corners or set pieces where his height is helpful but that's about it. Not to say he doesn't have potential, but he doesn't really have anything over Denilson.
Denilson will be the future of Brazil and Arsenal in that holding role. We need a top class striker, a top class goalkeeper, a dominating center back and a top quality winger before we need a DM.
Denilson has been fantastic.
Can any of u who thinks Song ain't good enough for Arsenal,give me 1 name of some1 who was/is better in that specific position "HM" at the age of 20?And i mean anywhere in the world!!!
LMAO what solidity did Alonso give from the bench at the Euros??? Please tell me he is behind Fabregas Xaxi,Senna, in the order hardly played at all..
l also believe Song could potentially assume that role, his passing and defending has greatly improved, he is very disciplined defensively than both Denilson ad Diaby, he keeps possession much better than both and physically stronger.However i believe the major problems are to do with the fact that Wenger is playig people in wrong positions, eg. Ashivan is being wasted on the left wing, Of late Fabregas has been playing too far up the field with his creativity being curtailed.We also do not have top quality finishers, Our defence lacks someone with organisational skills, like Adams or Terry for example. One other issue is that i no longer believe that Van prsie is a strike, he would be more suited to playing on the wing so that we allow Arshivan to play behind Adebayor and push Fabregas back a litle bit so that he can be creative.
Song just needs 2 improve his passing and shooting......all our CDM problems will b over.
He has a fantastic work rate!
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