In my opinion, one of his standout performances of that and many other seasons, was the 1-0 win at home to Liverpool in February 2010. After losses to Chelsea and Manchester United in their previous two games, Arsenal’s title challenge was on the ropes and they needed a win to revive it. In what was quite a dreary game, he did a phenomenal job of keeping the midfield solid and marking Steven Gerrard out of the game. Arsenal eventually scored the winner through an Abou Diaby header 18 minutes from time.
The 2009-10 season was a key time for Wenger’s Arsenal as their tactics and style of play changes to a much more Barcelona-like way of being patient and keeping possession. This is perfect for Song who isn’t the most pacey or dynamic of central midfielders but he is brilliant and making simple passes, keeping the football and protecting his defenders.
Last season began inconsistently for Arsenal as they lost 6 league games by Christmas but had kept themselves in a reasonably weak title race where every team was lacking quality and consistency. He continued to be a regular fixture in the side and added an attacking verve to his game which hadn’t been seen as much the previous season. This could be attributed to the emergence of Jack Wilshere and his defensive qualities which meant he could trust him to sit back and shield the defence if he ventured forward which he did very successfully. He showed he had an eye for the killer pass as well as the ability to score crucial goals.
The most crucial coming in October when he came up with an 88th minute winner at home to West Ham to finally break down the North London rivals and win the game 1-0. He scored 5 goals by the end of 2010, but this was, sadly, the end of his goalscoring form for the year. Arsenal’s unbeaten run from December to April, coinciding with Robin van Persie’s return, led to a strong title challenge but the team yet again fell away at the end of the season and slipped to 4th eventually.
However, Song had once again had a storming season and had established himself as one of the best players in his position in the Premier League.
This season started poorly for him and the rest of the team with the loss of his deep midfield partner Jack Wilshere to injury along with the sale of creative midfielders, Fabregas and Samir Nasri. But the purchase of Mikel Arteta has been fantastic for Song and the Arsenal midfield, he has the nous and ability to sit back when Song ventures forward and give him a key outlet when sparking attacks. They have formed a strong partnership in the team, starting virtually every league game together so far.
Alex Song obviously suffered from a turbulent and inconsistent start to his Arsenal career but the loan spell at Charlton along with the change of tactics at Arsenal has led to him establishing a key and strong position in the team helping them to two title challenges as well as a standout win at home to Barcelona in February. His constant rise seems unstoppable and he is sure to be a key performer for Arsenal for many years to come.
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So may I ask what game you watched yesterday as song constantly frustrated as he gave the ball away on numourus occasions trying the Hollywood pass and trying to beat more than one person he must realise he is not messi his job is to win the ball and give it not try and weave his way through the opposing team.
are you joking? this slow rat indispensable? are yu blind, he cant pass without shoving, looses the ball every now and then, commits fouls, maybe once in a blue he makes a good pass, this guy should not be a starter…buy poldosky, anyone with speed…solve you defence issues…sign samba…
I think Song is indeed important to the team but at the moment but in reality when you look at his performances they tend to be black and white, Hot and cold.
What i mean by this is as a defensive mid he needs to be a great ball winner which he is but positionally he can lose it causing problems for everyone else i.e the second dyer goal on sunday.
Another side or pattern to his game which makes me feel uneasy is what he does after winning the ball, he tends to try and take on opposition midfielders instead of quickly moving the ball on with immediate effect to more advanced players in the team.
This is a huge problem because firstly it slows/stops the possibility of a quick counter whilst the opposition are attacking, also puts our defense at risk if he gets tackled whilst being greedy allowing the opposition to outnumber our defense in attack whilst our midfield are in an advanced position.
He is a great player and very capable of wonderful passes into the channel i.e RVP and Henry but he needs to be less greedy and distribute the ball quicker to his team mates for the benefit of Arsenal.
we only have one song….alex song bilong!!!
Song has grown. But he will do well to keep his game a bit simpler. On Sunday, he was holding too long on the ball when a simple pass was preferable. He ended up losing the ball too often. Like virtualy everyone else, he was below par at Swansea
Song is the only player that can make a break through and its a pity he dosnt break more often.
Remember his goal against West Ham it came when everyone else had failed to bother West ham.
Why is Ramsey prefered to letting Arshaven move inside to where he would have more room switch from left to right (and vice versa) his assists
are still more defence splitting than Ramsey can
manage and he is always likely to score more goals tham Ramsey.
funny how Wenger gives time to say Denilson and not Larsson eg, yet Larsson is now an established Premier league player (and good at free kicks and goalscoring) while no one wants Denilson!