Every story is only part of the whole story. Or as Carl Sagan once said, “If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe.” For example, the Hobbit is a wonderful story which only covers a small sliver of an entire world with a complicated history that Tolkien created. Even within the story of the Hobbit, Tolkien hints of a story about the battle between Gandalf and Sauron which is going to be made into a third Hobbitt movie. Further, Tolkien doesn’t name him in the Hobbit, just refers to him as the Necromancer of Dol Guldur, you have to read the Silmarillion to find out about all this.
But there’s a principle of infinite regression at work here. You can continue to look at smaller and smaller specks until you lose sight of something meaningful and interesting or you can keep demanding “the whole story”. But the reality is that whole story is unwieldy and frankly boring. The Hobbit is a good book because it is tight and focused on one thing: there and back, a Hobbit’s journey.
As it is with the Alex Song story that’s circulating at the moment; that he had become a Billy Big Bollix, wanted a new contract, started showing up late for practice, and stopped doing the things that the manager asked him to do both in practice and on the field. Arsene had grown tired of his antics and by January of last year was actively shopping for his replacement. So, when Barcelona came knocking this summer, the club got rid of him quickly and for a massive profit.
But Arsenal supporters are never happy with any story about the club and this one about Song, which has a whiff of club spin, is being picked apart just as eagerly as Tolkien nerds who examine every word in all of his works, looking for any hole in the theory.
Why, if he’s such a disruption, is he getting an upgrade to Barcelona? What role did the fact that Darren Dein is his agent play in the movement of the player? Why is it that Arsenal haven’t had a prototypical defensive midfielder since the triple departures of Gilberto, Diarra, and Flamini in 2008? On and on, just like any densely constructed story there are many threads to pull on.
I do believe that the club has leaked this information about Song for strategic reasons. Fans demand an explanation of why Arsenal are selling the club’s most defensive midfielder, second best player on the team, who has years left on his contract, and who provided the only steel in the midfield. Arsenal gave them an explanation and naturally, the fans start to pick it apart.
But in my experience, if Arsenal stayed silent on the matter the reaction would have been worse because everyone and their brother would filled the void with whatever their pet theory of the day is: Arsenal are cash-strapped, Arsene is a tyrant, Kroenke is only in it for the money, the club lacks ambition, the ticket prices are too high, the announced attendance is a joke, Usmanov is actually Jesus, I like black scarves – do you like black scarves – let’s get some bin-bags and tie them around our heads like a security blanket!
I’m not sure how much of the official Arsenal story I believe. I definitely think there is bad blood between the player and the management – what the cause only Arsene and Song know. And as for the player’s discipline on the pitch I’ve always forgiven Song and attributed that to Arsene Wenger’s playing style, though it is possible that both Wenger and Song were to blame. We know that Arsene’s system is not rigid so a player like Song could get it into his head that he can do what he want and that it’s other people’s responsibility to cover for him when he goes forward.
If I start to go down the road of imagination, I can see that leading to fights in the dressing room. I can see Bouldy asking the two deepest midfielders to hold back more (I saw Arteta drop into the center back spot when Vermaelen went forward and that’s not something I’m used to seeing at Arsenal). What happens if on the training pitch, Song is asked to do that and he says that he was Arsenal’s leading goal creator and that it’s not his job?
But it’s all just me imagining things. Who knows what really happened? And honestly, who cares as long as the club get in a replacement and quickly?
Unfortunately, this story isn’t done yet. I’m sure the Song camp will respond as soon as his contract is signed. Barcelona are already spinning the deal as if they have signed the new Yaya Toure — which is absurd. And Arsenal need to get a player of high quality in who can hit the ground running.
Even after all that, this story will still be largely untold. We’ll have to wait for Wenger’s Silmarillion to know the truth behind this, Cesc’s departure, the Nasri deal and so much else we all wish we knew.
Which we will then proceed to pick apart endlessly.
Some day Wenger will tell all in his book. Would not expect anything less from Le Prof. But for now, Sahin and one more signing. I still think Clint Dempsey would be a good signing. He will command a premier league premium though.
I can’t see at all how Dempsey would fit into how Arsenal play. He’s not a great passer of the ball and shoots A LOT to score all those goals. I don’t think he’d ever start for us, and I don’t think he’d want to be somewhere that he wasn’t starting. He’d be nice to have off the bench, though.
I was thinking more as an impact sub, shooting and scoring from outside against teams that park the bus
Arsenal would not buy an almost 30 year midfielder like Dempsey. We have Arteta and Thomas. Dempsey would demand a 4 year contract and that’s not really our style…but things and attitudes are changing. No Dempsey I afraid. Jagielka would be ideal DM and Defender combined
Jagielka did look great against ManUre today
It’s already begun in the Telegraph today. He “loved” Arsenal and they wouldn’t give him more money fast enough. Blah blah blah… we’ll never know. I’m fine with it if he’s adequately replaced. I’ll know how I feel when the window closes.
Should have stood firm.
I don’t see why we should give in to these sort of antics. It sets a bad precedence as Song is enitrely within contract.
At very least give him maybe a reward for the next year in bumping his salary up slightly ( call it loyalty bonus) with some performance criterias built in and then get rid of him next summer (or even January)
It would have given the new bloke some time to settle.
We are not playing this to our advantage.
The PR effect and knock on for others tempted to be like minded is there to exploit.
If all Arsenal transfers were written by Tolkien, then we would probably have read about The Podolski saga and the Arrival of the Cazorla in two separate books, worth 8 1/2 hours of Peter Jackson’s imagination.
On the other hand, Song’s departure would probably read something like this: And then Song died. The end.
And since Tolkien was a teeny bit racist, Song would have probably been one of the Uruk Hai gang.
Only Stoke City (is it even a city?) and their supporters may be classified as Orc or Uruk-Hai
I would better leave the whole story of “was Alex Song truly a Dick at Arsenal?” to the tabloids and wait for the eventual day that Wenger releases that biography. Hopefully there will too much glory to write about pre and post this season that Song will be just a footnote, if that.
“Why, if he’s such a disruption, is he getting an upgrade to Barcelona?”
Even though everyone and their dogs are seemingly desperate to just warm the bench at Nou Camp these past couple of years, let it be stated that THERE ARE NO UPGRADES FROM ARSENAL, EVER.
Let’s lower the Cameroonian flag and raise the Turkish (German?) colours in welcome of Nuri Sahin. Song is dead, long live Sahin (well at least until May 2013…)
The autobiography of one man will never tell the true story, it will merely tell the tale from that person’s perspective, normally stated to cast that person in the best light. The true story will be pieced together when we Gazidis, Wenger, Song, David Dein and the fly on the wall writes their memoirs.
Until then, the tabloids, Arsenal, players and the fans will all have their differing opinions.
Now, if i could only translate FLYOLOGY, I would be well on the way to being the richest man in the world.
I am no ordinary man.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/9487891/Arsenal-did-not-sell-Alex-Song-to-Barcelona-because-of-his-unprofessional-attitude-midfielders-agent-insists.html
Here is the Song’s camp version of events.
The way Arsenal pay players for performance, I find it hard to believe that we would not extend his contract with an increase of a ‘measly’ 70k/wk increase. In fact we have too many players at around that salary who are not as valuable on the field as was Song. The Song camp don’t categorically deny the behavior complaint, just that Arsenal were ‘stalling’ on a new contract. You have to wonder if the ‘acting-out’ was the reason for the foot dragging. To read that we were shopping the player since January as opposed to Wenger being angry that the player’s agent was shopping his client is the point at which the rubber meets the road. It means that Wenger was lying when he said that we wanted to keep Song but never once did he mention ‘contract’ and ‘Song’ in the same sentence that I can recall. That might be the telling point of the tale. Thus we move on.
If we bring in Sahin as the only MF ‘replacement’ then we will have Arteta becoming our Pirlo. If we go into with a Capoue (I think Milli Vanilli is out of the picture) then we’ll know that Wenger wants to go inexplicably in a different direction from a Song. Wenger may be of the opinion that we needed more defense from Song than offense considering how many goals we shipped. 10 days to go and this could be our most important transfer decision in terms of how we set up going forward. This appointment will tell us about Wenger’s desire to get a balance between the offense and defense.
Wenger and company must have known we had an urgent requirement in this department since the start of summer, I’m not sure why we have waited so late to conclude a deal.
I think we could have handled the situation better.
Granted the player was being a it of a plonker but we should have offered a loyalty bonus at very least for next season with performance criterias built in and then offerd to visit the contract again then.
Then get rid of him in January or next summer.
The way we’ve done it, it’s pandered to his ultimate goal, encouraged otherd firmly in contract and deprived us of vital cover in an area unfortunately only Song excelled.
If we don’t get in a true DM during this transfer window, and Sahin is not a DM, this will just be deja vou as Tim intimates when we lost/sold Flamini, Diarra and Gilberto. It will mean he is reverting to a small, mobile, technical MF a la the Denilson, Cesc era.
Personally, where I think that could work in France or Holland, it’s not going to work anywhere else. But then again, I am no professor of the game, so could be entirely wrong. However, I have yet to remember a world class club or national team who have won anything with that philosophy.
Song was never the 2nd best player at the club!
RvP, Theo, Koscielny, Szczesny, Sagna, Vermealen, Rosicky all ahead of him based on last years efforts.
He stopped trying to defend ages ago and I have no problem with him being offloaded.
The fact he is the last of the players represented by Dein Jr makes it even better.
I’m sorry but we are kidding ourselves if we don’t face up to the fact that we are losing 2 possibly 3 of the best performers last season.
This continued change cannot be good for us in closing the gap.
Something is clearly wrong beyond the fact that we are economically less powerful than the Manchester clubs and CHelsea.
Particularly as this player is wellw ithin contract but pushing us around.
Sid, need some of that stuff you have been smoking. Walcott and TV better than Song last year? Ouch mate, please pass the dutchie. Sagna was out for 1/2 the season and Song was our leading assist maker. What am I not understanding with your statement?
It seems like we continually try to make departing players the villain rather than trying to arrive at a root cause as to why we are losing so many of our best players. Sit back, exhale, then take a deep breath once more and put the mind into gear again.
You need to remember the saying, “where there’s smoke, there is fire”.
I would like to see Arsenal pick up Adam Johnson for all the things he can do that Walcott cannot.
Much rather we had bargianed for Affelay for Song = 5m
Affelay was unsettled. Why did we not take advantage of that?
Sorry that should be a +
I think we should be a little aggressive.Kept Song and put the gun to Walcott’s head. Sign or we will replace with Affelay.
I’m not sure why that contract must take so long. to conclude.
Seems to me we are in the middle of a process purging the club of head cases, problem-children, prima donnas and underperformers and replacing them with older more established players who can appreciate the opportunity placing for the Arsenal represents, instead of seeing our team as a stepping stone to something greater or personal glory.
That said – Affelay is a fucking head case and walking attitude problem. And he is tight with RvP… by all accounts those two were inseperable at the Euros, to the point where they were one of the reasons for a less than harmonious Dutch locker roon. Why on earth would we bring in Affelay? Not worth it.
Also, I’m sad to see him go.
I’m aware some of you may point to his stats and how he wasn’t that good and all that, but I can’t forget seeing him live in Belgrade and as the Partizan players bounced off him like extras in a Steven Seagal fight scene, I couldn’t stop thinking: Wow, this guy is a beast.
So, so long, Dmitri. I still don’t know if I will miss you, but I guess with 24 siblings’s mouths to feed, that Catalan raise will come in handy.
In my opinion it was the correct decision to show him the door. Leaving aside QPR away there was the fiasco that was Norwich at home. At one point in that game Vermaelen went charging forward leaving a hole for the opposition to exploit. I noticed that Gibbs was aware of the danger and was shouting to Song to drop back and fill the hole. It was evident from the stiffening in his stance that he could hear Gibbs and was disregarding him until he eventually turned round and told him to shut up. Inevitably the opposition played the ball into that space and Norwich scored, which cost us two points and could have lost us 3rd place. There are more instances of poor discipline and distribution that outweigh the glory balls. When he came on in the Cologne game he was constantly looking to deliver a glory ball rather than find a well placed team mate with a short ball that would ensure posession was retained. I went to the mens olympic football final and noticed a superb midfield performance from the Mexican No 14, by the name of Jorge Enriquez. At the time I thought I would trade Song for him. I do not recall him passing the ball out of play for a throw in or giving possession to Brazil at any point in the game, he consistently won/held possession for his team and distributed it to one of his team mates to launch another attack.
Was song a traitor…. I am a debater….
At first everyone was a song hater…..
Most thought he should just be a waiter….
When he ran he moved the equator….
When he fell there was a huge crater….
Even his body actions needed a translator…
But though Wenger’s guidance he became straighter..
Then we loved him, Wenger was the vindicator….
Time passed and he thought he was greater…
He started to do as he wanted, became a dictator…
So Wenger got shot of him, as should be the fate of a traitor…
If someone stabs you in the back, get rid…..sooner than later !!!
Well done, Iceman!
I imagined a B-Boy singing those those rhymes in front of Emirates Stadium. Take that, you ingrate Song.
Nice, although you forgot “masturbator”, “alligator” and “potato”.
I keep seeing all these articles making excuses on players leaving that they were not up to scratch.
Let’s not be mistaken, Song was one of the top performers for us last season with11 assists and steel in front of the back 4. We will miss his presence and the new player will need to hit the ground running (which as we’ve seen from our striker is a big IF)
Ditto RVP.
The differance is that whilst RVP’s departure is well managed (with 3 good players coming in) and whilst we had no leeway with RVP (1 year contract). we have delayed Song’s departure to the point where it may affect us in season and we have been pushed around by a player with 3 years left on contract.
The message it sends to those of lesser persuasion is easy to grasp. We can be bullied.
Repeating that verbatim doesn’t make it true. It all depends on your frame of mind. If you see it as buckling to pressure, you can conclude we were bullied. f on the other hand you see it as the club saying that no player is worth the drama and that we have belief that we’ll be fine without them, it sends a different message. You’re either completely in, or you are out. Wherever that out may be.
I think we were not reluctant sellers here. We might have wanted to keep Song but obviously didn’t deem him worthy enough to match his demands, whatever they might have been. This to me, doesn’t send any message of weakness. It’s just a solution we were comfortable with.
On a more popsitive note, I like the cut of Sahin’s jib.
Seems like a complete midfielder. Could it be a more Flamini role he might undertake giving us option to play 2 up front?
I still think we need a third striker to increase our odds with our entirely new frontline.
Someone slightly forgotten, young, quick and mobile like Pato may be worth a gamble (despite injuries). Hard to believe he is still only 22!
Cheers Tim.
Hey Tim,
I think that a lot of Arsenal fans need to come to the harsh realization that football has fundamentally changed since the Bosman decision, and the pendulum has swung heavily in favour of player power over team power. I have read many people’s comments on RVP and Song, including Alan Davis in the most recent Tuesday club, who suggest we should have kept these players. I do not think, in the world in which we live, that such a view is tenable.
Forget the money. Can Arsenal afford to force RVP to finish out his final contract year and then “lose” him for nothing? Of course we can. Let’s not be under any illusion, we are a financially solid club. 24 million pounds is good business, but it is not necessary business. But can Arsenal realistically take the opposite view and tell a player under contract that he has to stay? Has to see out the deal? Given the legal developments favouring player power since 1993, I don’t think that is possible and it has absolutely nothing to do with money and everything to do with what the player will bring to the field in those conditions.
Professional sport is not like your average office job, or even your advanced executive level job. Performance on the field has a lot to do with confidence, outside life experiences, teamwork, camaraderie, and many other inchoate factors. It’s the reason why a dream team of the best players won’t win right away (hello Manchester City 2009 until last year) and why a team of hard working, dedicated but average skilled players can overcome much more talented opposition (is that Swansea getting consecutive promotions and a mid-table Premier League finish?). That means that the player really has to have his mind right and WANT to be there. If you don’t have that, the performance will drop. Even a really dedicated professional will experience a drop in performance, because while they won’t be a complete slacker, they will not fight for every ball no matter what because they do not really want it deep down.
We’ve all experienced this is the most pronounced way with Na$ri last season. It was patently obvious in that game last August that he did not want to be there and could not give a crap. But that is the extreme end of the spectrum. Even if you accept that Song and RvP are not that twatish, there would still be nagging doubts about every mistake. Did RVP miss that shot because he wasn’t in it? Why isn’t Song hustling back for every tackle? It is just like match-fixing. Nearly impossible to prove.
Occasionally, Arsene has been able to keep some players who “didn;t want to be at the club”, but usually only for a year and usually with a lot of cajolling. Cesc and Titi, for example. Stay one more year. Give me one more year of your best for what I have done and if we don’t win somthing you can go. It never works long term. See Modric, Luka.
Alex Ferguson essentially confirmed all of this when he said that RvP expressed that he wanted to leave in July and from then on United knew they could get their man, it just depended on the price. Mancini and Ancelotti know this too. And don’t think the agents don’t know it. They do. It is just that some agents are ahead of the curve in this new world of basically pure player power. Think it is a coincidence that all of Darren Dein’s clients are gone from the club? He knows that if a player says he doesn’t want to be at the club the contract is not worth the paper it is printed on except to force buying clubs to pay more money.
And then there is the worst part: the message it sends to the rest of the team. “I don’t really want to be here. I don’t want to be your teammate and don’t really respect you. I’m only passing to you because I am forced to by management.” That is a TERRIBLE team dynamic and it will play on the minds of others in the team.
We have to understand that the only way to operate in a world like the one we have is to ensure that every player wants to be an Arsenal player. Wants to be part of this team. Wants to work with Arsene. Wants to win with Arsenal. Players can change. They can start out dedicated to the cause and get disillusioned. They can have their heads turned by wealthier clubs and clubs with a better winning pedigree. That is fine, not in the sense that I like it but in the sense that it is the way the world is. When that happens, we have to accept that WE AS FANS and the team itself should not want that player in our team. If you do not want to be here, thank you for your service, maximize the value, and move on. An average player who will fight for the Arsenal is better than a great player who could care less.
In that regard, I am glad to see Song and RvP both go. If you don’t want the Arsenal, then I don’t want you. Best of luck and all, except really I don’t care because if you don’t play for the Arsenal I don’t care whether you win the Champions League or contract a particularly painful form of dysentary.
I just wanted to add my view on this “keep him” nonsense. We can’t do that. We just can’t. So, if you want out, say so. Then get out. I don’t begrudge them their choice. There are players out there who are quality who do want to play for us. Look at what Dortmund have done. Just because we are not Manchester City or Manchester United does not mean we cannot win.
Cheers,
Jon
Well said!
That’s well said, JV.
Jon – while I don’t necessarily agree with absolutely everything you’ve said, this is as intelligent and erudite a comment that’s been posted here.
Tim – this deserves a response on a separate post all its own.
A former coach of mine was too often wont to hoary sayings and cheesy slogans like, “Attitude determines altitude”. I used to laugh at such until I realized that 99% of the they’re all f$%king TRUE.
vey well said indeed. If both parties can’t agree on anything in a professional manner, retaining a player in the team just doesn’t work for all involves. EPL is such a tough place because every team (almost) requires players who are 100% committed. A half hearted performance will never get you anywhere and obviously undesirable.
The last sentence of your post is probably what the Everton guys said to one another before today’s game. If Everton can do it, so can Arsenal.
Song’s days as a starter at Arsenal were numbered anyway, I think he knew that and wanted to grab a move before he became a benchwarmer and his stock went down. Wenger’s Arsenal don’t play with a defensive midfielder and never have, his brand of total football requires skilful and intelligent box-to-box players who have the nous to know when to attack and when to drop back or fill in. Song’s not smart or skilful enough for that. Arteta, Wilshere, Ramsey, Diaby, AOC, Coquelin… that’s why Song left.
From what I’ve seen, Sahin is a more technically gifted player than Song; he’s also more disciplined. Should he adapt well, I doubt any of us will shed tears for Song.
That said, as Gunnerblog pointed out this morning, we’d look a good deal “weedier” in midfield, as Sahin is not quite the physical beast Song is. Does this mean a change in tactics, or does it mean we’re also looking at a player like M’Vila?
People will point to our vast number of central midfielders currently as proof that Wenger will not buy M’Vila or similar. If that’s how Wenger is thinking also, then it’s a real shame. I don’t care about numbers; I want quality. I am not encouraged to hear that Frimpong, for example, listed as possibilities when someone like M’Vila or Biglia or Capoue could be bought instead. I don’t care if it literally “kills” a player’s career. If they’re not good enough to help us challenge for top honors, then sell them.
I’m just so tired of replacing departing players with inferior quality within, which has really been the pattern since we started dismantling the Invincibles and building the new stadium. If we really have turned a corner in terms of our approach (as the transfers of Giroud, Podolski, and Cazorla seemed to indicate), then I hope it continues with the proper replacement of Song.
Sahin fits the bill talent wise, but I still think we need another defensive signing.
Hey Tim, did you see Leighton Baines’ free kick against ManUre? Makes you want to covet him for Arsenal’s left flank, doesn’t it? But would he get a chance to take that free kick if he has Cazorla, Podolski and Arteta lining up ahead of him?
Tim’s erection for Baines needs no encouragement. In fact, your comment has probably led to a severe case of priapism.
RVP still on the bench at the start of the 2nd half. Well rested I’m sure. Less chance to get injured as well. Keep him wrapped in cotton wool.
Fellaini’s hold up play looks amazing in this game.
Everton 1-0, Fellaini.
So – bringing in Cazorla, Giroud and Podolski, sending out RvP and Song … we are now back to even in terms of transfers in/out, we’re even slightly profitable.
This is what I find frustrating, not necessarily the loss of the two players. Wenger and company haven’t, in the final analysis and despite talk to the contrary, invested any new (read – profits from past sales) back into the club, just redistributed transfer monies.
That said, I find it funny how Rennes asking price for M’Vila is about the same as what we just sold Song for. Coincidence?
And Wenger saying he’d like another defender – is that rumored deal with a Bendtner – Mexes swap going to happen? Mexes is maybe better than Squillaci, but not by a hell of a lot.
Lose ManUre, lose with RvP! Ha ha! On the other hand, Everton will be a tough rival this year
So Arsenal are in crisis, eh? We didn’t spend 24mil on a 29yo injury prone striker to come off the bench at 68″ in a 0-1 lost to a team on a shoe string budget. Just how shoe string is Everton’s budget? When Jelavic had to change his bloodied shirt, he didn’t have an extra one so they bought one from the concession stand without his name or number on it.
Well said ctpa
All things Arsenal aside, I’ve always had a soft spot for Everton and couldn’t be more pleased at the result.
The final game of the opening fixtures puts our result in proper context.
They had Valencia playing RB and Carrick in defense. A 24m pound striker on the bench. Such a well balanced side aren’t they? They will of course buy some more players between now and the close of the transfer window and get better. But with Rooney, Welbeck, Hernandez, Berbatov, RVP, The 18 y/o they are rumoured to have bought, and Powell, they are top heavy, not in a good way. Unless they plan to go 3-4-3.
How long until newsnow stops aggregating van Persie stories for Arsenal? It’s getting tiresome.
Please everyone Remember RVP did not become a bad player overnight. He will score goals for United, might be against us… Show caution
A shot taken at RVP now is also a shot at Man U and SAF.
Respect for you and the quality of the comments on today’s post, otherwise I have some very foul words for RvP, ManUre and SAF
The ego of the modern footballer is a difficult thing to manage. I definitely think that this is an area Arsene and others at the club can improve on. A lot of top players have departed our club over the years who might have stayed had we been a bit better at massaging their egos. Obviously money and being a title contender play a role in that.
Of course, players should stop being so douchey and realise that they are already living the dream. But that’s never going to happen.
I love your adjectival “douchey.” Very nice, indeed.