Song coming of age

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Date	Time	C	Opponent	F	A	R	S
30 Oct	3:00 PM	P	West Ham United (H)	1	0	Win

Goalscoring hero Alex Song believes he is becoming a more mature player now, after years of working on his football development at Arsenal.

The Cameroon international scored his third goal in three games, a vital winner against West Ham, and he believes adding goals to his game is only a small part of an overall improvement for him.

Song also believes his desire to improve is growing, as he feels a special passion for Arsenal, having spent nearly six years at the club.

He said: "When I came to Arsenal, I was just 17 years old. Today I am 23. I am more mature now and can learn every single day. Now I am more confident, which is maybe why I try to push myself. We have a lot of players who have been here for seven or eight years.

"When you play in one team for a long time, with the best manager in the world, you want to give your best every day, that is why you can see it when we are on the pitch - we showed very good character against West Ham and never gave up, which is very good for the future for us."

It has taken some time for the midfielder to establish himself as first choice, having featured mainly in defence in his earlier years at the club, and looking more than a little out of place at times.

At a club like Arsenal where the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Gaël Clichy and Jack Wilshere can make the breakthrough at the age of 17, there was obvious pressure on Song to do the same, but he believes learning from his early mistakes has been a big help, rather than a hinderance.

He said: "I never gave up. It was a bad time for me, but I try to learn. When you make mistakes, you have to learn to be ready for the next step. That is why I push myself.

"My family help me a lot. I have to say thank you to my wife and children because that is where my inspiration comes from."

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