Despite all the denials, it seems that Alex Song might be closer to leaving Arsenal for Barcelona than initially thought, with rumors of Barca vice-president Josep Maria Bartomeu travelling to London in an attempt to successfully negotiate a deal for the Cameroonian midfielder.
Last week was all about stirring the pot, like they did with Fabregas for years, although the Cesc connection was a bit more obvious due to his affiliation with Barcelona from his younger days. Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets were all enlisted to the cause and throw heaps of praises on the 24 year old in stage one of the negotiation process, while the head coach Tito Vilanova kept denying everything.
Barca DNA was what they kept talking about. What is that? No one knows for sure. Maybe it has something to do with never ending patience while passing the ball across the halfway line before giving the ball to Lionel Messi. Maybe it’s something else, and has to do with hating Real Madrid.
On one side of the story, we have Arsene Wenger who keeps saying Alex Song is not for sale. The player has two more years left on his contract, and there’s no reason to rush in attempting to cash in on him, especially as he’s still developing and maturing, becoming a better player with each passing season. Song himself said he’s happy at Arsenal and isn’t thinking about leaving. But when Barcelona comes calling, you start having thoughts running through your head.
What the Arsenal board have in mind and what Arsene Wenger has in mind aren’t always the same thing. As much as he wants to please them and cares about the financial future of the club, priding himself by running the ship very well while turning a sizable profit, even he feels that maybe that way won’t bring titles. Arsenal have been spending this summer – Giroud, Podolski, Cazrola, but Wenger wasn’t planning on selling his best players.
The official price for Song? Last week it was around £20 million. This week it’s already down to £15 million, maybe even 12. At least as a starting offer from Barcelona. If the board/Wenger do accept that offer, don’t be surprised to see Song suddenly happy to leave London for Barcelona, who haven’t seen too many players saying no to their offers. Especially when it involves Arsenal players. Or maybe it’s just the media pushing for something that isn’t there, trying to create an agenda and a transfer out of nothing.
Song arrived at Arsenal from Bastia in 2005, since then playing 138 league matches for the club, scoring 7 goals over that time and becoming a consistent member of the starting lineup over the last three seasons.