The Arsenal website doesn’t have much to offer today except this piece – Diaby has improved tremendously. I must say I completely agree with that article. At the start of the season I didn’t think of the lanky Frenchman as anything more than a squad player (My bad! But can you blame me?) Over the last few months an increasingly fit Diaby has impressed on many levels.
He has shown that he can compete physically, tackle, win balls in the air, hold off opponents, run with the ball in the final third and finish with his feet and head. His overall passing stats aren’t too bad either. I guess that’s pretty much everything you want from a central midfielder, isn’t it?
This realization coupled with the fact that Cesc and Song are well established first choice players makes me wonder whether this trio forms our best midfield. It’s certainly an impressive line-up and most managers in the league will gladly take it but I get this sneaky feeling that something is missing. I just can’t put my finger on it though.
It is certainly working out better than playing Denilson (4 losses and 2 draws in 13 appearances), and we don’t really have any other tried and tested alternative. Ramsey is a good player but he is definitely not ready for the big games while Le Boss prefers Nasri and Rosicky in the front three in stead of their preferred central midfield role. The likes of Eastmond, Merida and Co are not close to being regulars.
Perhaps, the thing that makes me uncomfortable is the fact that we are trying to give a free role to Fabregas and neither Song nor Diaby is really a pass master. El Capitan is forced to drop deep when the going gets tough and that breaks our attacking impetus. The opposition is able to push us deeper and we end up in a midfield battle and one on the wings in stead of forcing the play in the attacking third.
This might have been the reason Wenger tried to sign Alonso at one time. Someone like him would have been perfect to unleash Cesc in the final third. Xavi probably does that really well for Spain. Denilson has, so far, not been able to raise his game to the expected levels. I would wager that one day if Wenger talks about this season retrospectively, he will mention this as the missing piece.
To me Nasri and Rosicky are players who could have performed this role but Wenger definitely knows better than me. It is possible that the Frenchman’s ability to dribble and his finishing skills make him an important man in the final third. Little Mozart on the other hand might be a little low on defensive work for a regular central midfielder. Could they have done better in central midfield if they got a chance? Are we forced to play them up front due to the injuries to attacking players? Well, there are many questions and we will never know for sure.
If we consider for a moment that all our players are available for selection, it would be the best nightmare ever! Would the likes of Nasri and Rosicky get into the front three ahead of Arshavin, Bendtner and RvP? If not would either of them get a nod in a central role? Once again, there is no end to speculation but it does give me a positive feeling about our squad depth and the future.
The question remains – Is Song, Cesc, Diaby our best midfield? I don’t really have an answer as you must have guessed from the above discussion. Please help me out with your thoughts 
MOST FUNKEDELIC – SONG, DIABY, EBOUE
it is a hard question to answer. we have seen very little of nasri and rosicky in there prefereed positions ( central midfield) so its hard to comment on their effect. however watching rosicky recently when he runs at attack he always looks menancing and he takes a hell of a creative burdon of cesc. i think your combination of cesc diaby and song is probably our best based on the fact song is a dm who can also play centre back so if wg/tv bomb forward he can plug the gap. diaby is tall and strong with a long stride he can add a defensive shield but yet with his technique and quick feet but a lethal presense in and around the box ( 6 goals 3 assits i think). however for me id really like to see fabregas song rosicky. 1 dm and 2 attacking central midfielders. i think rosicky and fab running from deep would cause havoc for other teams but how succesfull would this really be with song being so young ( i am a fan of him) and almunia not being a world class goalkeeper.
if we had a top class goalkeeper and a song with another 3 years experience then i think it could work really well.
On present form I`d have to say ,yes!Having said that I think I`m in favour of a limited rotation system so that we don` burn out and also keep others match fit and tuned.
I agree about rotation, have been writing about it since the beginning of the season. This season we have hardly had enough players though, hopefully we will see some variations next season.
Wouldn`t it be nice to have a bench with Fabregas, Van Persie and Arshavin on it resting and still win in style?
It would certainly be and I am sure its possible with the squad that we have. We do need everyone fit and in top form though.
Wishful thinking desi!
I have only seen one game with song cesc n nasri in th middle. If given a chance i think it is our best midfield. Cesc n nasri were switching roles very effectively. When cesc needed a breather he would stay back n nasri could go forward and so on. Arshavin and niki b were on th wings and rvp upfront. Cant remember which game that was though!
I am not sure that combination ever happened this year because RvP got injured just about the time when Nasri was coming back. Nasri’s first game in the league was Van Persie’s last i.e. away to Wolves. And If my memory serves me right Bendtner was out even before Van Persie.
Very good article with reference to dilemma we are facing in midfield after a long long time upon which Wenger decided to sell Veira and continue with Fabregas. Gilberto/Veira was ok, Gilberto/Fabregas was ok, only problem was playing Fabregas/Veira together which was not as effective as Le Boss think of.
I think this situation will not develop this time around because all three players in contention are young enough to modify their technique according to the team’s requirement. Song is developing rapidly and will cope up with any requisit of the future by keeping his tackling tenacity intact. Diaby is working really hard as his tacklings are improving day by day and he is going to be a neat central midfielder as match againist Liverpool is evident. His work rate will enable him to share the load of creativity with Fabregas and defence’s load with Song in future. Fabregas is working on his defence and headers as an attempt to be a complete midfielder.
This situation will provide them with a challenge of developing in their roles respectively.
Yes this trio is the best to stick with and will bring more fruit in the future.
Dat’s our best option 4 dis season, diaby is maturin in his role. Song & el capino is just good on paper they need some1 2 connect them 2gether, Denilson cant do it bcuz he finds it difficult 2 assist d defence. little mozart, Russian bomber & Samir cant do it bcuz they are not as tall as diaby. He has long legs 2, 4 a good tackle.
I think d combination of d three is better considering our present state of injuries. but i`d prefer nasir been rotated with diaby in an injury free squad cuz both have some similarities in their ability to take on players but by and large, the rotation will always depend on fitness level, opposition, squad injury. gunners 4 laif.
fabianski
eboue gallas verm clichy
song
cesc nasri
rosicky arshvin
nikki b
The strongest Arsenal midfield is Diaby ,Nasri ,Cesc and Rosicky ,with Song just behind them in defence .
our best midfield is song diaby cesc no question about it. if u think song nasri cesc is our best u should jus take a look at the home tie against chelsea last season where we lost 1-4. diaby gives us a natural balance. i thought he was weak in the air but ive changed my mind on that after watching him a lot this season,he is a very very good tackler, he scores goals, he is good on the counter cos he has bags of pace and he chips in with a few assists as well. to me he could become a more complete player than cesc fabregas
I get your point about Diaby but it’s not fair to judge a midfield based on one tough game. I guess it depends a lot on the opposition as well.
………………………….Mannone……………………………
…………………………………………………………………..
……………………Campbell…………………………………
…………………………………….Vermaelen………………
…………………………………………………………………..
…..Sagna………………………………………….Clichy…..
………………………………………………………………….
…………………………Song……..:…………………………
………:………………………..Diaby………………………..
…………………………..Fabregas………………………….
…………….Rosicky……………………Vela……………….
………………………………………………………………….
……………………………Bendtner…………………………
Did Arshavin offend you in some way :O
i can see why some want nasri in for diaby, but i think i’d stick with diaby sondiering the form over the last few months when either has played. i have a lot of time for nasri, but i think all 3 of this midfield are strong battlers and that’s a big deal in my opnion. song is the strongest and most physical, diaby is strong and has height and drive on the ball and cesc is smaller but can usually compete physically and rarel;y loses the ball without being fouled. nasrio is class, especially on form, but i think nasri is more a cesc replacement than a diaby replacement- or more realistically he should keep his wide role where possible.
i also think though that arshavin rvp and niklas make the best front 3. arshavin is highly tehcnical and explosive with great vision, rvp is a world class player with amazing finishing, movement and tehcnique and niklas is the least talented but very valuable on the right wing in my opnion. he adds height, power, work rate, aerial ability and a willingness to help defend from the front as seen in the early season and that is a really good thing to add to the mix.
personally i think that is the thing which has caused us the most problems this season. early on when we had our best team (minus diaby in the middle for denilson) we defended from the front. arshavin niklas and robin ran the opponents down and forced mistakes, gifting it to our midfield, so our defense rarely got seriously tested. you’ll notice in all the recent games without possession we are defending deeper and challenging less and thus the opposiotion get a real chance to have a go at our defense. i think putting bendtner back out wide once we finally get robin back is the solution to helping relieve that pressure defensively by forcing mistakes from the front. for a great example of these tactics i say look at the celtic games. robin, arshavin and niklas forced so many errors and backwards passes that our midfield couild be more occupied with picking up the loose balls and less worried about defending 1 vs 1 vs opponents
I guess you have mentioned the right first choice players and we can always rotate a bit in some games.
Defending from the front is crucial to the success of this formation. Otherwise there is a risk of it reverting to a 4-5-1. I agree that we have struggled in recent games when we have been pushed back. That was one of the reasons I was thinking of having a pass master in the midfield (something Denilson did effectively in the early part of the season.)
Great subject to discuss, song, diaby & cesc if we are playing 3 in the middle by far the best option IMO.
[...] Is Song, Cesc, Diaby Our Best Midfield? The Arsenal website doesn’t have much to offer today except this piece – Diaby has improved tremendously. I [...] [...]