The Cameroon youngster, who is currently away in Congo on international duty, always struggled for games with Arsenal, with Gilberto, Cesc Fabregas, and Mathieu Flamini firmly established as first 3 choices for 2 first team berths. But since Abou Diaby returned from injury and Denilson showed that he's ready to step up to the mark, that struggle has taken on England cricket team proportions.

Still, he did play twice in the Premiership this season, before Diaby and Denilson came along in recent League Cup games, and came off the bench in the Champions League once, albeit in the last minute. He scored his first Arsenal goal in the magnificent 6-3 win over Liverpool, although to be fair he knew nothing about it, the ball ricocheting in off his arm from a yard out.

Song is the nephew of Galatasaray star and Cameroon's most capped player (and current captain) Rigobert Song, formerly of West Ham and Liverpool. Like his uncle, Alexandre is no slouch in the haircut department, with someting of a Dwayne Dibley.

While Arsenal's squad is looking very strong in midfield, even with Freddie Ljungberg and Alexander Hleb still out, Robin van Persie's metatarsal leaves a bit of a hole up front. The other day, we speculated on the possibility of recalling Nicklas Bendtner the other day, given that Le Boss was wondering about a panic signing up front. But it's been announced today that he has agreed a loan extension with Birmingham City instead. So we have to hope that Thierry Henry and Emmanuel Adebayor stay fit, that Julio Baptista's groin stays ok, and that he Jeremie Aliadiere and Theo Walcott prove sufficient back-up as we press ahead on 4 fronts. It's a gamble, to be frank. But then again, we can't pretend that counting on Bendtner would have been anything else.