Arsenal Midfield Options (Part 1)
Arsenal is only just into the second season of playing a Barcelona style 4-3-3 formation that Manager Arsene Wenger has decided that it is the ideal formation to suit star player Cesc Fabregas. With that in mind, Arsenal’s boss was hardly going to allow Fabregas to be sold to Barcelona in the summer transfer window and has to change his plans for the teams’ future.
When Arsenal started playing this style last season it was working very well with Cesc pushing forward from midfield and Robin Van Persie playing the best football he had ever played in an Arsenal shirt in the central striking role. Arsenal was scoring with an average of more than three goals a game. However, when Robin Van Persie got injured, Arsenal’s rate of scoring goals decreased drastically. No wonder because there was no other striking power present at the club and even Eduardo was unable to find the goals scoring form.
But Arsenal managed to keep things going in English Premier League challenge until the injury crisis became too much that they were out of reach towards the end of the season. Consequently, those injury problems cost them the English Premier League title.
With the new English Premier League season upon Arsenal, Arsene Wenger is hoping that the ‘Barcelona style 4-3-3’ formation will come into its own again with both Cesc Fabregas and Robin Van Persie players central to his plans. However, Arsenal Skipper Cesc Fabregas has been called back into the team without any problem as he played right through to the World Cup final with Spain.
The gifted midfielder managed to play his first game of the season against Blackburn just before the international break. Although Cesc Fabregas had an injury prone last season, Arsenal midfielder still managed to score fifteen goals and provided fifteen crucial assists in the English Premier League in only 27 appearances which is quite remarkable.
However, the reason Cesc Fabregas is being eased back into Arsenal’s first team is to ensure that the skipper doesn’t suffer the same injuries for this season. There is nothing that can be done to prevent any kind of injury at that time. Without a doubt, Cesc Fabregas has the ability to take any team in the world apart with his superb vision and fantastic range of passing. Moreover, with the right players around him, it can and will be the best central attacking midfielder in the world.
In summers, Cesc Fabregas was all over the news for the possible move to his home club Barcelona, which later didn’t happen. Without a doubt, Fabregas wanted to leave for Barcelona which was to fulfil his potential and hunger. Moreover, it would help them win some trophies as well after playing beautiful football and moving back to his hometown.
Arsenal needs to surround its skipper with quality players who can help them fulfil that hunger of winning trophies with Arsenal. In order to achieve that, it's important that the right players are chosen to play with Fabregas in the team. That means that Alex Song has to anchor the midfield and also protect the defence in all of Arsenal games against the bigger teams where there will more defending required than usual.
Alex Song has the skill to make the important tackles that are needed at crucial times and the self discipline to hold his position and also cover other players when they try to move forward. Although Alex Song’s passing can be a little wayward on occasions but still he is very young and he is only going to get better. Only a few years ago, there were hardly any fans who thought Song was good enough to play for Arsenal but Arsene Wenger was convinced even then.
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