Good Bye Song!

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Originally Posted by LDG

That's why I think he'll bring sahin in on loan :shrug:

He's raw, yes, but only as raw as Song once was.

Meh. WUMger may also a little bit be cautious, as well you know, we have Diaby who can also play there.

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yeah but sahin isn't a DM, he's a deep lying playmaker just like jack. he's not physical and he can't tackle. if we are seriously relying on sahin to take song's role then we're in serious danger, mainly because our midfield would be depleted of any physical presence. we struggle enough with song there but if he goes and we put sahin in his place we'd get overpowered every game.

you could put diaby there but he's crocked all the time so once again, we'd be in serious danger 2 months into the season when injuries kick in. plus i think diaby plays best in an attacking role so it would be a waste of talent anyway.

It doesn't need to be a like for like replacement though, Busquets isn't what you'd call a typical DM but he reads the game very well to break up play and distribute the ball. Sahin would probably do something similar, not to mention the fact Arteta does a very disciplined job for us anyway.

On Sahin, it seems like Liverpool might be front runners now.

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Originally Posted by Marc Overmars

It doesn't need to be a like for like replacement though, Busquets isn't what you'd call a typical DM but he reads the game very well to break up play and distribute the ball. Sahin would probably do something similar, not to mention the fact Arteta does a very disciplined job for us anyway,.

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Wot 'ee said.

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Originally Posted by LDG

I dunno mate. Gooners and football fans in general only ever seem happy if someone is attached to a massive price tag.

Fuck that shit. Coquelin will be an extremely good player, IMO, and like you say, with no fuss. Exactly what we need.

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no i never said that. i never said spend £30m on a DM, im saying if he goes, we need to replace him well if we want to do well in the league.

putting an inexperienced coquelin there would be suicidal; we aren't in a position we were a few years back whereby we could experiment and fall back on the youth project hypothesis if it all went tits up. we are past that project and need to win trophies asap.

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Originally Posted by ollie the optimist

i just hope we have invited barce over to talk under the impression they can get him cheaply, make them pay for flights etc then when they all sit down in a meeting, the arsenal guys just stand up, walk out and say fuck off

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Meanwhile back in the real world...

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Originally Posted by GB.

Meanwhile back in the real world...

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Lollerz

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Javier Clemente has taken the time to praise Arsenal midfielder Alexandre Song and feels the Cameroon international is unlike any other player.

The 24-year-old has been linked with a move to Barcelona this summer, and his former international coach has plenty of positive words about Song, even though he's not convinced with the midfielder's defensive abilities.

"He has a very impressive physique and is a great guy. He is a very good player and is unlike any other player," Clemente told RAC-1.

"Song is a much better player in attack than he is defensively, though."

Clemente worked with Song during his spell in charge of Cameroon from August 2010 until October 2011. The powerful midfielder has a contract with Arsenal until the summer of 2015.

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http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/...-says-clemente

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Originally Posted by Marc Overmars

It doesn't need to be a like for like replacement though, Busquets isn't what you'd call a typical DM but he reads the game very well to break up play and distribute the ball. Sahin would probably do something similar, not to mention the fact Arteta does a very disciplined job for us anyway.

On Sahin, it seems like Liverpool might be front runners now.

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you can't compare us to barcelona because the shape of their team is incredible. their midfield help their defenders out, their whole team has great discipline and their tactics aim to keep as much possession as possible. they don't really need an out and out defensive midfielder in that team, probably one of the reasons they let yaya go in the end.

we're in a much more physical league and our team isn't half as effective as theirs. the equilibrium in the premier league relies much more on tackling, physical leniency and making yourself visible upon your opponent. i guess you could say it's a different culture to other league's.

im all for putting sahin or coquelin in the DM role but i guarantee you 4 months into the season people would complain that 'we have no physical presence' and we 'havent replaced song properly'. pretty much what we've been saying about flamini up until last season, when song finally stood up to the task.

It was clear last season that Arteta is supposed to be that 'DM' or whatever. Obviously the issue is that we can't make enough interceptions and that exposes our defence. I happen to think it's mainly because we just can't cover enough ground. Because none of Ramsey, Arteta and Song were/are particularly quick. And if you don't have much positional sense then the problem becomes more apparent.

As I've said, the fact that Barcelona want Song (albeit probably for the CB spot - they even tried Mascherano there last season at times) shows that he has to be a very good player. But I don't think he's right for us. It's a less extreme example of the way someone like Dani Alves is great for Barcelona but having him in our team would be a disaster. Nobody seems to be using 'destroyers' any more (apart from the spuds :bow: ) but at the same time, we need players that can cover the gaps quickly. Arteta and Song just isn't dynamic enough IMO. If Wilshere makes it back in October ( :haha: ) I guess he turns into that box-to-box player. It's a helluva gamble though.

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Originally Posted by Syn

It was clear last season that Arteta is supposed to be that 'DM' or whatever. Obviously the issue is that we can't make enough interceptions and that exposes our defence. I happen to think it's mainly because we just can't cover enough ground. Because none of Ramsey, Arteta and Song were/are particularly quick. And if you don't have much positional sense then the problem becomes more apparent.

As I've said, the fact that Barcelona want Song (albeit probably for the CB spot - they even tried Mascherano there last season at times) shows that he has to be a very good player. But I don't think he's right for us. It's a less extreme example of the way someone like Dani Alves is great for Barcelona but having him in our team would be a disaster. Nobody seems to be using 'destroyers' any more (apart from the spuds :bow: ) but at the same time, we need players that can cover the gaps quickly. Arteta and Song just isn't dynamic enough IMO. If Wilshere makes it back in October ( :haha: ) I guess he turns into that box-to-box player. It's a helluva gamble though.

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I think we need to see more of a collective effort from every player to win the ball back. We've managed to play a high pressing game against teams like Chelsea and City where the attacking players as well as the central mid players are hunting in packs to win the ball. It's very effective and if we approached every game with that tactic and mentality, we'd be a much tougher side to beat. But we don't and I think it comes down to the way our staff monitor player fitness. I don't think Wenger encourages our team to play that way every game because I reckon he fears player burn out, I can't be certain but it's just a hunch. It's not as if it's beyond the team to play that way.