View From The Sphere

Can he really be Song’s successor?

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‘Alex Song was a great player for us and he was a big player for us – but we’ve got a strong enough squad.

‘I’m definitely confident of that and I’m definitely confident of filling Alex’s role.’

These are the recent words of youngster Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, expressing his desire to fill the void left by Alex Song and hopefully hone his talent in the centre of midfield at Arsenal for years to come.

But is the 19-year-old up for the task?

As we all know the England international is usually deployed on the wing by Arsene Wenger but can play through the middle as past games have shown, and with Song gone and Arsenal’s midfield undoubtedly looking weaker, The Ox believes he is the right candidate to fill the gap, thus saving Le Boss a buck or two.

It’s not a new thing, as the youngster has expressed his desire to play in the centre of the park when he signed for the club last summer:

‘I remember on the day I actually signed he asked me where I saw myself playing.

‘My dad was in the room and said ‘Centre mid, he’s a midfielder’.

‘The boss sort of laughed and said ‘I think he could be as well’. He said maybe to start off with I would be out wide and last season I did play the majority of my games on the wing.

‘But the boss has been pushing more this season to try my hand in a more central position.

‘If I can prove I can play in that position as well then that will help me and my career at Arsenal.’

To answer my own question, I believe Chambo can do a really, really good job in the centre of midfield.

He has the stature, skill and movement to succeed in this position and his agility and pace would bring something new to our midfield – just look at what he did against AC Milan in the Champions League last season!

Granted he doesn’t have much experience in this position at the club, but he can learn the role and wants to play it, so why not let him? He is certainly a better option than Abou Diaby that’s for sure!

Unquestionably, Mikel Arteta is now our holding midfielder and has been since his arrival last summer, meaning we need to install or buy someone who is a box-to-box midfielder, which Chambo can be, if given the chance of course.

If Wenger doesn’t want to splash the cash this week and bring a new face in then he should consider the possibility of playing AOC in the Song role rather than Diaby.

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16 comments

  • Evan says:

    The Ox is already a great player and clearly has no limit to what he can do. He has the quickness and pace of a winger but the stature and physicality of a midfield player. He can pass and shoot well, and the only area he is weak in is the best area to be weak in at such a young age, the mental, decision-making side. The great thing about this is that at such a young age he is already pretty good with this part of the game, better than most players his age, and that the mental skill can be much more easily taught then physical attributes (which can’t be changed much if at all) and technical skills (which I feel are more refined by coaching in the top level rather than fully taught). I think he could easily make the switch to a central role, it won’t be Songs role, that would be a waste, but he could definitely help fill the gap. I think he should be played both on the wings and centrally this season to test things out, maybe starting centrally for lower table opponents or cup games. We will have to see, but I’m looking forward to see where it goes.

  • Fall River Gooner says:

    So many of you Diaby haters didn’t see him his last relatively healthy season. Who amongst you will publically acknowledge you don’t have a clue at end of season, cuz if stays healthy you will comprehend why Le Boss has kept the faith in him. To those on this post that state Diaby is playing clueless etc – IT’S HIS SECOND FULL GAME IN ABOUT A YEAR+ Can’t wait to see if you have the balls to slate Wilshere on his 1st few games back from being off a year+

  • mike says:

    NOOOOOOOOOOOO.
    BUY M’VILLA . SIMPLE

  • baskin says:

    Diaby can easily become our next Viera!
    Please, fellow gunners, have faith and give him a chance!
    If he puts some more games under his belt relatively unharmed, we will start to see the real Diaby.
    A reminder, last year we also did not score in the first two games. Bur this year our defense looks much better. Steve Bould influence? Lets hope so. I dont wanna jinx him, but Per looks sharper. Still, can not wait for Koscielny to come back. And Sagna, of course!
    And when our new number ten comes back, gunners are going to kick-ass and take numbers!

  • sammy gocho says:

    i think arsenal need a player like bender,mvilla and diarra who are good defensive midfielders so arteta can operate freely in midfield and finish many good passes to the frontline,as for ox i prefer him on the wings especially on the right or he should be a second striker he is capable of scoring many goals than walcott time for walcott to leave or get used to the bench, and arsenal should adopt either a 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2 or 3-5-2,
    this are my first team options if wenger decides not to buy anymore

    4-2-3-1 line up should look like this
    sagna-mertsacker/konscienly-vermalen-santos
    arteta-wilshere
    chamberlain-podolski-cazorla
    giroud

    4-4-2 line up should look like this
    sagna-konscienely/mertasacker-vermalen-santos
    chamberlain-arteta-wilshere-cazorla
    podolski-giroud

    3-5-2
    konscienly-mertasacker-vermalen
    chamberlain-arteta-wilshere-cazorla
    eisfield
    podolski-giroud

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