Arsenal must bring Barcelona midfielder back to north London
Published:There are plenty of players who can claim to have left Arsenal and gone on to be wildly happy sat among the many trophies they’ve since won.
Alex Song’s personal trophy cabinet may be slightly fuller since joining Barcelona, and it’s a 6/4-shot he adds this season’s league title to that haul, but he certainly can’t claim to be happy with his playing situation.
Joining the then best club in the world to work under new coach Tito Vilanova, the Cameroonian must have thought he’d struck on some form of footballing heaven.
That ideal has soon turned to hell some 58 appearances later as the Spanish giant revealed they were happy to listen to offers for the midfielder.
The news must ring like the sweetest serenade to Song’s ear, who has featured just 12 times under new Blaugrana boss Gerardo Martino this season and is predominantly used as a cup player.
His sudden availability has alerted some of the continent’s great sides but it is back in north London where the midfielder should look to land.
Arsene Wenger, whose side are 11/4 to win the FA Cup, is not a manager too proud to bring back former disciples. Sol Campbell, Jens Lehmann, Thierry Henry and most recently Mathieu Flamini are all examples of returning Gunners.
So bringing Song back to patrol the midfield he once made 150 Premier League appearances for isn’t beyond the Frenchman’s capability, and the move would be a shrewd one.
Flamini left the Gunners at the start of the 2008/09 season, the same campaign that Song made his breakthrough in the Arsenal first team.
While the former AC Milan midfielder has added some much needed bite back into the midfield, Song’s arrival would make Flamini a high-quality deputy in the defensive midfield department.
A robust player proficient in passing the ball, Song registered 11 assists in his final season in England winning the runner-up spot in the fans player of the year vote as a result.
At a surprisingly young 26, Song would also be a superb long-term acquisition having been so badly splintered by the Barca bench in seeking some trophy-laden years.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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