Alex Song and the Ultimate Betrayal of Arsene Wenger's Youth Project

I remember quite vividly Alex Song's debut for Arsenal. We were coasting through the final minutes of a relatively routine home win over Everton in the autumn of 2005 when Arsene decided to introduce the slightly mysterious loan signing we had made that summer. Song ambled around the pitch for a few minutes, and repeatedly gave away the ball. It was hardly an auspicious debut, and I remember thinking that the young player looked hopelessly out of his depth. But, given that it was only a little more than a year since our league triumph in 2004, Arsene had a considerable amount of goodwill in reserve, and few were going to question his judgement when it came to young players.

Fast forward about a year, and Arsenal are playing Fulham at Craven Cottage. Despite only having a handful of first team appearances under his belt, Arsenal had turned Song's loan into a permanent transfer in the summer of 2006. Yet this was, to my knowledge, his first league start. Song was destroyed that evening by, of all people, Luis Boa-Morte. Again, the young Cameroonian looked completely out of place in the Arsenal line-up. The Arsenal fans in the away end (or at least a good deal of them) chanted "we want Cesc Fabregas" repeatedly, and Song was withdrawn at half-time. Most thought that we wouldn't see him again.

A loan move to Charlton in January 2007 seemed to mark the beginning of the end to Song's odd Arsenal career. Instead, it was perhaps the start. Song impressed while on loan at The Valley, and began to slowly insinuate himself into Wenger's plans the following season. After Philippe Senderos was destroyed by Liverpool in the Champions League quarter-final, Song was drafted in to play at centre-back at Old Trafford in a pivotal league game in April 2008. He, to my surprise, acquitted himself quite well, despite our 2-1 defeat, and his stock rose considerably among Arsenal fans.

In the summer following our last serious league challenge under Wenger, we lost Mathieu Flamini and Gilberto Silva. Coupled to the loss of Lassana Diarra in January 2008, Arsenal fans fully expected Wenger to buy a defensive midfielder in the summer of 2008. Instead, we bought Samir Nasri, Aaron Ramsey, and Mikael Silvestre. Opportunities were given to Song, Denilson, and Diaby in the central midfield positions that season, and Song slowly began to show why Arsene had persisted with him for so long.

During the 2008 to 2010 period, Song showed that he had the potential to become a world-class defensive midfielder. He kept thing simple. He had a knack for reading the game. He knew that laying the ball off to Fabregas was usually the best idea. And he gradually grew into a solid part of the Arsenal starting XI.

I'm not sure at what point something changed, but from 2010, Song began to get ideas above his station. Particularly during last season, with Areta's arrival and Cesc's departure, Song frequently began to go walkabout, spraying hollywood balls around the pitch (with mixed success, whatever his successful through-ball tally says) and generally leaving the defence exposed in a way he had never done previously.

There was, in short, a progressively growing sense that Song was a wanker; that he seemed more concerned with being the team's maestro than ensuring that the team, y'know, actually won. The arrogance that had grown with his game bloomed in the absurd 3-3 draw against Norwich last season, where he simply could not be bothered to track back and cover the defence when the game became stretched, directly contributing to perhaps two of Norwich's goals.

Now, Song may well have been told to play in an more attacking manner by Arsene last season. But if you see your team is being overloaded in defence, you help out. You don't shrug and walk off, as Song did on at least one occasion during the game against Norwich.

This is all a big way of saying one thing. In my opinion, Song would not be a top-flight player were it not for Arsene. Wenger plucked Song from relative obscurity, and stuck by him after a series of disastrous performances, which led a majority of the fan-base to question why the hell he was at the club. Thanks to Arsene's faith, Song grew into a pretty decent player. But, perhaps in part to the faith that was shown in him, Song's ego then grew to a size that could no longer be kept within the confines of the Emirates stadium.

After the match today, Arsene said, "He [song] expressed a desire to go to Barcelona."

Let's just consider that for a moment. After everything Arsene had done for Song, he turned round and agitated for a move this summer. Based on a number of accounts, Song's agent has been hawking his player around Europe, despite Song having three years left on his current deal. Moreover, Song's attitude in training has been extremely poor, according to multiple sources.

This is, in a a microcosm, both the fatal flaw and the ultimate betrayal of the Wenger youth project. Like all beautiful ideals, it relied upon a fundamentally optimistic interpretation of human nature. Wenger believed that after carefully nurturing his young charges, they would turn around and reward him with loyalty. Instead, why don't we ask van Persie, Fabregas, Nasri, and now Song what their definition of loyalty is.

Football is a game that is obsessed with short-term thinking. Song's agent wants his commission. Young players at Arsenal want the rewards of success without having achieved it.

In the end, Wenger's youth project has achieved almost none of the objectives it sought, except that of keeping Arsenal in the Champions League. Instead of producing a generation of players who had been developed together, and who would thus have an unbreakable team bond, it has fermented a group of egomaniacs, who care about themselves above all else, owing to the unshakable belief in their own ability that Wenger gave them.

Arsene obviously deserves better than this. He is a visionary coach, hampered by his own idealistic view of sport, art, and the world. Who knows what Song's future career will bring. But he has acted disgracefully this summer, and betrayed his mentor. Good riddance not just to him, but to all those who betrayed the faith put in them by Arsene Wenger.