Arsenal hero Alex Song believes that he would start ahead of Declan Rice or Martin Zubimendi if he was still in his prime. The 38-year-old spent seven years with the Gunners between 2005 and 2012, before completing a £15million transfer to Barcelona.

Song was an important player for Arsenal during the majority of his spell in north London. He was initially deployed as a box-to-box midfielder by legendary Gunners boss Arsene Wenger before being utilised in a No. 6 role. He ended his Arsenal career after making 204 appearances for the club, and ultimately retired from football in 2023 following a stint with AS Arta/Solar7 in the Djibouti Premier League.

If Song was still plying his trade for Arsenal, he would be competing with Rice and Zubimendi for a place in the team every week, according to the man himself.

And after being asked during an interview with ESPN Africa whether a prime Song would still start for Arsenal, the former Cameroon international confidently declared: "Gunners for life. Yes."

He also backed himself to start for Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City. And he claimed he would get in the team at Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid as well.

But when asked whether he would start for Arsenal's fierce rivals Tottenham, he exclaimed: "No, I would never play for Tottenham. Never."

Song was held in high regard during his Arsenal days, with Wenger conceding when he departed: "It's always frustrating losing good players, but we have plenty of players in midfield."

But after leaving the Emirates, Song expressed his love for Barcelona as he stated: "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."

Arsenal have become one of the best teams in Europe over the last few seasons and have stormed five points clear at the top of the Premier League table this term.

Rice and Zubimendi have been instrumental for their side this campaign, with both players starting on Wednesday night as the Gunners defeated Brentford 2-0.

The duo have each started 13 of Arsenal's 14 Premier League matches this season, although Rice was forced off in the closing stages against the Bees with a suspected calf issue.

And the Gunners will be sweating on his fitness ahead of Saturday's trip to Aston Villa, with manager Mikel Arteta explaining: "Declan had to come off, we will have to see tomorrow." The Spaniard then explained: "He couldn't carry on playing so he had to come off. He can walk."