Alex Song completes move to Barcelona from Arsenal

Alex Song has completed his move to Barcelona from Arsenal.

The 24-year-old Cameroon international midfielder has signed a five-year contract at the Nou Camp after the clubs agreed a £15m deal.
Song, whose contract will contain a release clause of 80m euros (£63m), passed a medical on Monday.
"I'm very happy to be here, this is the best team in the world. Playing at a club like Barca is something I wanted when I was young," Song told Barca TV.
"I hope the team will continue to win, this is a winning team. They win everything."

Arsenal are close to signing 23-year-old Turkey international midfielder Nuri Sahin on a season-long loan deal from Real Madrid as a replacement.
Song did not play in Saturday's 0-0 draw with Sunderland, after which Arsenal confirmed an agreement had been reached with Barca.
The Spaniards will present him to the media on 11:00 BST on Tuesday.
"It's always frustrating losing good players, but we have plenty of players in midfield," said Gunners boss Arsene Wenger.
"We are looking to bring one more midfielder in, and maybe one defender as well because we still feel we are short in some positions."
Sahin joined Real Madrid from Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund last summer but struggled to make an impact, and head coach Jose Mourinho has said he is free to find a new club.

Song stats

• Born: 9 September 1987 in Douala, Cameroon.
• Clubs: Bastia (2004-2006), Arsenal (2005-2006, loan), Arsenal (2006-2012), Charlton (2007, loan) Barcelona (2012-)
• International caps: 30

Song, who had two years left on his contract, joined Arsenal as a 17-year-old from French side Bastia in 2005.

He initially arrived on a one-year loan deal, with a £2.75m fee agreed to make the move permanent.
Song went on to make more than 200 appearances for Arsenal, including 34 in the Premier League last season.
The midfielder will now link-up with former team-mate Cesc Fabregas at Barcelona who he believes will help him settle in at the Nou Camp.
"I know Cesc very well," Song added. "He's a very good friend of mine, he will help me to integrate."
With Abou Diaby, Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky returning to match fitness, Wenger says he is happy with his midfield options.
Arsenal have signed striker Olivier Giroud, forward Lukas Podolski and midfielder Santi Cazorla, but captain Robin van Persie - who scored 30 league goals last season - has joined Manchester United.

Van Persie’s exit no excuse – Wenger

Van Persie

Arsene Wenger refused to blame Arsenal’s failure to find the net against Sunderland on the exit of Robin van Persie.

The Gunners created numerous openings against the Black Cats but were unable to take their chances and the first game of the post-Van Persie era finished goalless at the Emirates Stadium.

Lukas Podolski struggled to find space in attack as he feels his way back to fitness, while fellow new boy Olivier Giroud missed a glaring chance to win it for Arsenal late on.

But Wenger is confident things will soon click into place for his side.

“I feel that Podolski is not ready yet, but he has the quality, and Giroud you could see has a presence when he is on the pitch in this position,” said Wenger.

“We went for a different formula last year and the balance is not always right. In some games it works, in some not.

“Against Sunderland we maybe needed one more creative player to be a bit more accurate in the final third.

“There was not a lot of space left to our strikers, everything had to be created from our midfield.”

Wenger added, “It is always frustrating in the game when you have so much possession and so little points.

“You have to calculate that you make a draw or two or three during a season, but you don’t want to make it at the start in the first game.”

But Wenger is adamant Arsenal cannot use the departure of Van Persie as an excuse.

“When you are on the football pitch, you don’t think about the players who are not there,” said the Gunners boss.