FC Barcelona Vs. Arsenal FC 2011: UEFA Champions League, What Will The Gunners Do With Alex Song Injured?

Alex Song is injured, and this presents some serious problems for Arsenal FC. As everyone who watches European football knows, FC Barcelona have some midfielders who are really good at passing the ball. So, when Arsenal are without their lone ball-winning midfielder, they have a bit of a problem. Song’s absence inherently makes the 2011 edition of this UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie a little more interesting. Arsenal have a lot of options to deal with this, but none of them are particularly great. Let’s deal with this problem systematically, shall we?

Basically, Arsenal have four different options. Let’s take them on one by one.

Denilson is what he is. He’s considerably less likely to do something incredibly stupid than any of the other players that Arsene Wenger could play in the absence of Song, and he’s the most natural holding midfielder of the available players as well. He’s not terribly creative and he’s nowhere near the athletic talent that Song is, but he’s not terribly deficient in either area either. He’s just Denilson. He’s an okay player.

If football was all about being big and strong and dribbling the ball well, Abou Diaby would be world class. Unfortunately, football, especially as a central midfield player, involves things like passing, shooting, and tackling. Diaby is average at these three things. He is decidedly below average at deciding when it is appropriate to do all of them, though his actual technique on passes, shots, and tackles isn’t atrocious. He’s very athletic and very talented and could do a lot to help Arsenal win the midfield battle with Barcelona, but he could also be an embarrassing mess.

Okay, so we know that Arsene Wenger isn’t actually going to use Eboue as a defensive midfielder. In theory, it’s not an awful idea, though. He’s certainly more athletic than Denilson and more intelligent than Diaby. He’s quick, he’s strong, and he can tackle. Unfortunately, this is all theoretical stuff. In practice, Eboue hasn’t played defensive midfielder much at all in his career and a game against Barcelona is a very tough place to start.

Seriously, what good are they anyway? If Arsene Wenger witnessed Pep Guardiola tripping over a black cat that crossed his path, then falling into a mirror and breaking it, he might be inclined to do something really crazy. Like, playing a forward and midfield grouping of Robin Van Persie, Marouane Chamakh, Andrei Arshavin, Samir Nasri, Cesc Fabregas, and Jack Wilshere. Who needs to defend or win the ball back? Just score goals and don’t lose the ball. Duh, it’s that simple.