Former Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder Alex Song has won the Djibouti Premier League title for a second consecutive season with AS Arta/Solar7 on Saturday.
The 33-year-old former Cameroon international achieved the fete after his side hammered Arhiba 12-1 in a top-flight fixture. The win saw Arta reach an unassailable 45 points from 18 matches, 10 more than second-placed Port, and the same as third-placed CF GR/SIAF.
Against Arhiba, Song’s Arta enjoyed a 6-1 lead at the half-time break before they scored another six in the second period to seal the emphatic victory.
Song, who joined the Djiboutian club in November 2020, as a free agent after he was released by Swiss Super League club Sion in March 2020, has taken to his Instagram page to celebrate winning the second title.
“Thanks, guys we did a great job,” Song wrote in his post which was accompanied by a photo of him holding the winners’ trophy and donning a medal.
Last season, Song helped Arta clinch their maiden title after they secured a 4-2 win against Port, which gave them an 11-point lead at the summit of the table with two games left to play.
Originally a utility player on the fringes of the first team, Song quickly became an integral part of Arsenal’s starting XI during the 2008-09 pre-season, eventually leading to a €15 million transfer to Barcelona in 2012.
Song played for Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions in the 2010 and 2014 Fifa World Cups. He was called up for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations and was the only Cameroonian named in the Team of the Tournament. Song, who also possesses a French passport, is the nephew of former footballer Rigobert Song.
On January 6, 2015, Song announced his international retirement, aged 27 and earning 49 caps, citing his wish to focus on rebuilding his domestic career with West Ham United.
In this campaign, Song’s Arta have won 14 matches, drawn three, and lost one. By virtue of winning the league last season, Arta took part in the Caf Champions League where they reached the preliminary round and came up against Kenya’s Tusker.
However, Arta could not go beyond that stage as they suffered a 4-1 aggregate defeat against the Kenyan champions. After securing a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Djibouti, Tusker turned the screw to win the return leg 3-0 in Nairobi.