OP - welcome !! I am Song's biggest fan Without bashing Song too much, I think our problem stems from the middle of the pitch - we have no steel, we are too easy to gut cut apart and our midfield is non existent when teams attack. Song isn't good enough offensively or defensively to make any difference to us and while you seem to think he is a box to box midfielder, I don't because he is not good enough going forward and is only marginally better defensively.
We never replaced Flamini's defensive doggedness in midfield and his energy. In the season he was paired with Cesc we dominated games with a 2 man midfield, now we can hardly dominate games with 3 in midfield, especially when Arteta is absent. Flamini covered us from conceding on the counter and Cesc flourished that season. As soon as Arteta is removed from midfield who usually stays when everyone else mindlessly bombs forward, we looked like lost puppies in midfield. I agree Song isn't good enough defensively or offensive I just didn't want to say it as i'm new and didn't want to come under a shower of abuse or being accused of being fickle. He has the occasional floated assist but his through balls on the floor are atrocious and are often over hit (even relative straight forward ones), he loses the ball at crucial times and is very sloppy. I'm not his biggest fan.
Thanks for the warm welcome btw! Song tries to do every thing in midfield but defend. Ramsey should take some responsibility as well but Song has the experience and should know better.
the problem is 2 fold . We have not learned how to consolidate a win . What was it , 8 minutes left to win and we are still going forward , even the defence , and trying to get another goal. THAT is a weakness not a strength , Mr Wenger. Tell them not to do it. Look at Chelsea v Barca. They MADE SURE , they didnt lose . Then took their chances when they came. To this end they kept the mighty Barca at bay for the best part of 2 whole games. Compare this to our tactics. We FINALLY get back in front after 80 minutes of hard work and then instead of parking the bus and saying thanks for the 3 points , we fail to keep the mighty attacking force that is Norwich City at bay for 8 effing minutes. The starting point for any team is its defence , ours is NOT fit for purpose and is letting the attackers down . Coupled with an attacking mentality WHEN IT IS NOT REQUIRED is a major tactical error. we MUST strengthen our defence before we even look for more attacking options like Podolski . Podolski could get 3 goals every game but whats the point if we are gonna leak 3 goals evey game too .?
Exactly, defenses win you titles not just your offensive players ask SAF. We were 3-2 up why are our players tryna score another by playing another magical through ball and losing it. Why not KEEP the BALL! Sloppy, Arteta's quiet efficiency and intelligence was missed today.
We just don't have another player like Arteta... if we miss out on CL football, that game against Wigan will have been the cause of it.
