Destroyers of the Pitch: Top 5 EPL Defensive Midfielders

Picture Courtesy of Twitter @whufc_official

3. Alex Song, West Ham United

Song rose to prominence with Arsenal in the 2008-09 season as a perfect foil to Cesc Fabregas (does this sound familiar now for another midfielder?) in Arsenal’s engine room. While prone to the occasional stupid red card, his hard work in the middle of the pitch put fear into opponents and allowed Arsenal’s other midfielders to take care of work in the attack. The Cameroonian found himself wanted by Spanish superpowers Barcelona, and he eventually made the move there.

After being frozen at Barcelona and seeing play time diminish and almost become non-existent in La Liga, Song was loaned to West Ham this past summer. There were questions raised as to weather the midfielder has lost his ability and was more of a liability. This was due to lack of play at Barcelona combined with his tomahawk chop to the back of Mario Madzukic of Croatia during the 2014 World Cup that saw him get sent off.

Song has put that all behind him and his play in the midfield has been the main conductor of the breakthrough season for Stewart Downing and the West Ham attack of Diafra Sakho, Enner Valencia, and Andy Carroll. Though he doesn’t get the accolades, Song can be seen as one of the main catalysts of West Ham’s surprise run to 4th this Christmas season.