Alex Song

is he world class or not

not world class but great
his ability to drop back during an attack is really good and he is unselfish
he has worked on his finishing and has endless stamina
he was one of arsenal's best players last season

Potentially word class. Needs to always stay back and focus on his defensive duties. Also, needs to rotate every now and then because he's not a machine. While his offensive abilities are better than before, that's not his job.

He's improved a lot over the last couple of seasons... Potentially world-class if he improves a bit more.

Overrated yes he has improved, but from the level he improved from (utter shit) its not THAT hard and gets too much praise for it. I personally don't rate him highly although he is a solid EPL player.

i mentioned this in the last forum
the defination of world class player is one you would pick in 25 man squad representing planet earth.
would song make that squad i really doubt it

World class? No way.

definitely not world class, but he's essential to arsenal.

Ade wrote:Overrated yes he has improved, but from the level he improved from (utter shit) its not THAT hard and gets too much praise for it. I personally don't rate him highly although he is a solid EPL player.

Do you ever quit? Seriously.

theaguia wrote:i mentioned this in the last forum
the defination of world class player is one you would pick in 25 man squad representing planet earth.
would song make that squad i really doubt it

Would half the player stouted as World Class nowadays make it? I highly doubt it

World Class= Top 3 or so in that position, IMO, but everyone has differing views about this.

Lex wrote:

theaguia wrote:i mentioned this in the last forum
the defination of world class player is one you would pick in 25 man squad representing planet earth.
would song make that squad i really doubt it

Would half the player stouted as World Class nowadays make it? I highly doubt it

when did i say they would, that what i am saying there are way to many "world class players" the tag should be only given to a select few

perhaps i overrate him but i do think he is world class or at least near world class.

he is the last of a dying breed (DM) and playing as a pure DM there are very few better at defending, physicality, stamina etc.

i like song because he does not try to be this fancy player, he maintains the rhythm of the game. nothing more nothing less.

deezydeez wrote:perhaps i overrate him but i do think he is world class or at least near world class.

he is the last of a dying breed (DM) and playing as a pure DM there are very few better at defending, physicality, stamina etc.

i like song because he does not try to be this fancy player, he maintains the rhythm of the game. nothing more nothing less.

I guess Mikel is part of that dying breed too.

deezydeez wrote:perhaps i overrate him but i do think he is world class or at least near world class.

he is the last of a dying breed (DM) and playing as a pure DM there are very few better at defending, physicality, stamina etc.

i like song because he does not try to be this fancy player, he maintains the rhythm of the game. nothing more nothing less.

You sure you're not living in an alternate universe?

deezydeez wrote:perhaps i overrate him but i do think he is world class or at least near world class.

he is the last of a dying breed (DM) and playing as a pure DM there are very few better at defending, physicality, stamina etc.

i like song because he does not try to be this fancy player, he maintains the rhythm of the game. nothing more nothing less.

What rhythm? And have you seen how many times he wandered into the oppositions box last season?

He is a good player, but not world class!

his simple passes, high defensive work rate, and tackling are a great complement to arsenal's creative 1-2 passes.

this sets a tone, just because he is not a flashy player does not mean he doesnt have rhythm.

and come on "wanderd into the oppositions box"

alex song, what comes to mind first, tackling or "waders into oppositions box" you are taking select plays out of context.

Song may not be a world class player, but when he plays with Arsenal he does play like one.

deezydeez wrote:his simple passes, high defensive work rate, and tackling are a great complement to arsenal's creative 1-2 passes.

this sets a tone, just because he is not a flashy player does not mean he doesnt have rhythm.

and come on "wanderd into the oppositions box"

alex song, what comes to mind first, tackling or "waders into oppositions box" you are taking select plays out of context.

That is true. And there is statistic about how Arsenal did not lose a single game when Song was playing last season. Arsenal fans will know this better.

But when wanders forward, he leaves gaps behind and due to this the opposition finds it easy to initiate counter attacks. Now i dont know if he does this on Wenger's instructions, in which case it is ok. Since i do not know that, i will assume he joins the attack on his own accord and as a DM i will stop short of calling WC because of that.

Deezydeez = watches Arsenal and understands..


Kirnar = watches Barca and read editorials

did u read kiranr's post btw ali ?

Song is a good player who is vital for us, but isn't at all world class or on the level or the world's best holding midfielders. If you can classify Song as one, that is.

As strange as it sounds, Arsenal don't play with a out-right defensive midfielder anymore. We basically play two CM's and an AM and both of those CM's have the same responsibilities. I'm relatively certain that Song's tendency to get forward is actually Wenger asking him to and not Song being indisciplined in his positioning.

Whenever Song just sits as a pure defensive midfielder though, he's usually very good. One thing he does lack is pace and his positioning at times can be shoddy. He also seems to struggle to play for a whole season as he turns in a lot of tired performances every year. Not helped, of course, by Arsenal not having ample backup but the best holding midfielders I've seen can play 40-50 games a season and produce the same sort of performance time after time.

Like others have said he's very good but not WC. He could easily end up WC though imo. He's still got areas to improve; his touch(which he's improved but can still get better), and positioning(gets caught fwd at times). He's got a great workrate and is solid in the tackle though(although reckless at times).

his tackles are rough, he will foul an opposition player, that's what scares me about him! But he's a great DM, and one of my favorite arsenal players

RealGunner wrote:did u read kiranr's post btw ali ?

unfortunately I didn't , I posted it at the same time as his post.