Arsene has become the greatest manager in modern history. The man has control over all football operations and has found ways to build a staff that believes the same way he does. It has been so good that other clubs have starting buying away our groundskeepers we train people so well :)

I'm not sure Arsene should be worried about the defense as much as he should be worried about the defensive midfield. We have a wealth of attacking talent to place in the middle of the pitch. Fab, Rosicky, Nasri, Walcott, Ramsey, Wilshire... but on the defensive side of the ball, we see a little lacking. Song is developing into a wonderful player (if he would just stop comitting the stupid rash challenges), but after that, we seem to be short.

What do you think David? Are our DM's strong enough for the challenge?

David Young replies:

Whether Arsenal are strong enough defensively in midfield seems to be the single biggest bone of contention most fans have with the current squad.

As long as Arsene Wenger is manager, defensive midfielders will always be measured against two players who were the among the Frenchman's first signings - Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit. Those two not only provided with back four with strong vanguard cover - often breaking up attacks before they started - but the also showed power and skill when linking up with attacks. Since then, players like Ray Parlour, Gilberto and Mathieu Flamini have tried to emulate this pairing with varying levels of success.

In the current squad, most of the responsibility for enforcing the midfield seems to fall on the shoulders of Alex Song. Two years ago, it would seem unthinkable that he would be the man to carry out this role as most of the time he just didn't look as if he was up to the standard required of either Arsenal or, indeed, the Premier League. But, credit where credit is due, he has improved greatly over the past couple of seasons and now does a serviceable job in front of the back four.

My chief gripe with Song is that he is not quick enough around the pitch. For example, when Gilberto filled that role, he was often able to compensate for his lack of strength in the tackle by showing great speed and athleticism in heading off problems before they developed. The Brazilian split opinion amongst the fans as to whether he was the answer but one thing is absolutely certain - no other player in that team covered as much ground as Gilberto did during 90 minutes.

The other thing I do not like about Song is that when he does get caught out of position or beaten by opponents he tends to revert to crudely hacking opposition players down. Because he doesn't have the speed to recover, he seems content to concede freekicks often in dangerous areas. This clearly puts pressure in the team as defending set-pieces doesn't appear to be one of their greatest strengths and also means that the Cameroonian picks up needless yellow cards that might cost both him and the team later in the season.

All that said, when considering whether reinforcements are required, one needs to take account of the current mindset Arsene Wenger seems to have and also the change in formation that has been adopted this season. Players like Vieira, Petit, Parlour and Gilberto all operated in a rigid 4-4-2. This season though has seen the team play a more fluid configuration where they seem to attack as a 4-3-3 but defend in a 4-5-1. It would seem, therefore, that Wenger's approach to defending in midfield is that, rather than have one or two players earmarked as "stoppers", he is expecting everyone in the midfield to take collective responsibility for defending. The question is: are the current midfielders, most of whom are thought of as "creative players" rather than "work horses", able to carry out that plan?

My personal view is that the answer to that question is that this approach works fine against foreign sides but can leave the team exposed against the more physical English sides. There seems no question that the Champions League is a far less physical tournament than the Premier League. Referees give players far more protection and, generally speaking, opposing teams tend to want to play rather than merely spoil matches. In the Premier League it is a different story. Half the league is merely doing what it can to survive and avoid relegation. Consequently, putting ten men behind the ball and indulging in rough-housing are far more common currencies in the domestic competition. It is also no coincidence that, in recent seaons, Arsenal have hit the wall in the Champions League whenever they have finally come up against another Premier League team.

So, my concern with the current squad is that they maybe do not have the required steel in midfield to change tack and fight fire with fire when it is required. All of Wenger's title-winning teams were not afraid to mix it with opponents - hence why the club had such a bad reputation for red cards earlier in the manager's tenure. Obviously, it is better to keep your players on the pitch but it is a fact of life that when the chips are down a bit of physicality, and even nastiness, is required to win the Premier League alongside all the beautiful football.

Whether Wenger plans to buy another midfielder in January to cover for when Song is at the African Cup of Nations remains to be seen. It is my feeling he won't because he has two young players coming through who may actually fit the bill - Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey.

Anyone who has seen Ramsey play live this season will know that the youngster did not spend the summer lying around on the beach and frequenting the nightclubs of Europe. He put himself through a course of rigorous fitness work that meant he returned this season looking far stronger and more physically robust than he did a year ago. On what he has shown on the pitch so far, he looks to be more of a continuity player rather than an out-and-out creator. Most of his passes are short-range and sideways but he does keep the ball moving. He appears to be more of "a Gilberto" than "a Fabregas", which is not a criticism - it just means that he looks to be more of holding player and that is what the squad actually requires to balance things out at the moment. It is still too early to say whether he will prove himself to be truly top-class but Wenger is bringing him along slowly just as he has done with many players before him.

The real answer though could actually lie with Jack Wilshere. Those of us who have watched him for the past few years through the Arsenal youth ranks and in the Reserves will know that he is not only blessed with incredible talent and the ability to beat players for fun, he also has a very strong physical aspect to his game and is not frightened of getting stuck in or of putting his foot through the ball when he has to. As a youth player, he was shown more than his fair share of red cards. Those who have only seen him play for the first team will have noticed how difficult he is to dispossess. His low centre of gravity and strength means that he can turn players and wriggle his way out of situations. He uses this to his advantage when out of possession too and he shows no shortage of bravery when it comes to tackling back. This will become more evident once he starts to get more playing time in the first team.

So, after that rather long-winded summary, my answer to your question is, yes, I agree that Arsenal do need a greater physical presence in their midfield but I do not think that Wenger will necessarily go out and buy it when he has Ramsey and Wilshere waiting in the wings. And of those two, Wilshere definitely seems to have the perfect combination of both devastating skill, physical strength and unflinching courage. The sooner he gets more game time, and is afforded the same opportunities as Theo Walcott got and Ramsey appears to be getting, the better.

DY