Song - The secret behind our late, late goals

By Richard Clarke

Alex Song believes Arsenal score late goals because they stick to their footballing principles.

Nicklas Bendtner’s last-gasp winner at Hull on Saturday was the team’s sixth strike in the 90th minute or later in their last five games.

Song missed the match through suspension but celebrated the goal “like crazy”. Speaking in Arsenal TV Online’s Spotlight interview, the Cameroon international credited the philosophy of Arsène Wenger for his team’s heart-stopping antics.

“The manager trusts us to do the job,” he said. “If the referee says we have four minutes or two minutes left then the boss says ‘don’t panic, be confident and play’. That means if the opposition team drop we have the chance to score.

“If the game is not finished we know we can score at anytime.”

Song watched the Hull encounter at home with his family. Like any Arsenal-supporting spectator, his celebrations for Bendtner's goal were something to behold.

“I was like a crazy man,” he said. “I jumped everywhere. I was watching it with my son and he did not know what was happening. But when Nicklas scored I just said ‘yeeeeeessssssss’.

“It is very difficult to watch your friends when you don’t play. But I had confidence in my team. We have the players to come in and do well.

“And now we are in a strong position and we will fight in the games that are left.

“The mentality has changed for us. Everyone has in their head that we need to do something this year.

"It is very important for us.”

[Wednesday, March 17, 2010]

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