Arsenal boss Wenger backs Song to shine at Barcelona

The Gunners manager is confident that the Cameroon international midfielder can be a star at the Camp Nou but believes that he would be best deployed at centre-back

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has backed former protege Alexandre Song to make an impact at Barcelona, as the Cameroon international continues to acclimatise himself to life at Camp Nou.

The midfielder, who played under the stewardship of the French coach for seven seasons, was criticised by sections of the media for his performance in the Catalans' 3-2 Champions League victory over Spartak Moscow last week.

Nevertheless, Wenger maintains Song has the quality to succeed in La Liga and has issued advice to coach Tito Vilanova about how to best employ the Cameroon international.

"He will succeed at Barca, and something tells me that he will play in central defence," he told BeIn Sports. "No matter who's by his side, he will be good in this role."

Song made almost 200 appearances for the Londoners since his arrival from Bastia in 2005 but the majority of these came in a defensive midfield role.

However, Barcelona have a tendency to deploy their holding players at centre-back, a tactic used by Pep Guardiola to accommodate Yaya Toure and Javier Mascherano in his plans.

Barca look to maintain their 100 per cent start to the season at Sevilla on Saturday.