Like so many other transfer enthusiasts, Barcelona’s admirable persistence in signing Arsenals captain Cesc Fabregas is beginning to look like a matter of when rather than if. Since the shirt fiasco in the aftermath to Spain’s World Cup win (see here) a lot of people believe that without Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal will cease to be a power in the Barclays Premier League. In my opinion however, I think they could become even better.
Admittedly, Fabregas has been a key man since the departure of Thierry Henry. A young, respected player who burst through the ranks with his incredible vision and classy passing, fitting the Arsenal mentality perfectly. It seemed Arsene Wenger had again polished another diamond, and Barcelona’s pursuit of Fabregas is a no brainer.
On the other hand, Fabregas has taken a noticeable dip in form in recent months and it appears that he’s lost his voice on the pitch. There aren’t many points in a game where Fabregas won’t be looking at the floor, or stood with his hands on his hips, exhaling, wondering what just happened. Fabregas is a world class player, but his heart hasn’t been in the football as of late, and that to me points to the conclusion that even he is questioning his career and where he needs to take it.
Fabregas is a great player and whether he’s happy or not, his form will return and his passes may finally find an Arsenal boot. With Barcelona looming however, it looks pretty clear Arsenal fans won’t be forced into another season of “Will he, won’t he”. I’m not an Arsenal fan, but a big admirer of their football, whether they win anything or not. Wengers youth policy is a step in the right direction for football as a whole, but it doesn’t matter if Fabregas leaves. If he does leave, It’ll be for the better anyway.
Think about it, Thierry Henry, when he left Arsenal he was almost without question one of the greatest players alive. Before Henry left on the other hand, he was carrying Arsenal. When Arsenal were 0-0 with Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, Henry storms through to score that vital goal. At the last game at Highbury, 2-1 down to Wigan when a better result than 2-0 up Spurs were the only hope for Champions League qualification, Henry scores a hat-trick in a befitting end to the stadiums last game.
My point is when Henry left, Arsenal became a slightly better team. Out of the shadows sprung a more confident Adebayor, an enthusiastic Robin van Persie and a leader in Cesc Fabregas. With Henrys departure, came the phoenix which shaped the Arsenal team we see today. It seems again that fans and players alike have come to rely on Fabregas, and when your inspiration starts to look like he doesn’t know why he’s there, something’s going wrong.
When Fabregas leaves, Wenger will be forced to buy some new players and his current players will be forced to play better regardless. With so many rising stars like Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott and Kieran Gibbs, Arsenal will have a better chance at creating a more balanced team where the reliance is distributed equally among the players. At the moment, Arsenal players aren’t out of passion, they’re missing leadership, they’re tired of losing but there isn’t a player there who can lift them out of the doldrums. The Premier League will be sad to see the back of such a great player, but Arsne Wenger can build again; he’s created an invincible team before, I’m almost certain he could do it again.
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The only reason Fabregas wasn’t in good form for most of last season was because he was never really at full fitness/sharpness. He didn’t have a pre-season after playing in the World Cup final, which led to him having many niggly injuries. There were a few games in which he was close to full strength; City (A), Chelsea (H) and Tottenham (A) and in all three he absolutely ran the show, and was his normal brilliant self. Without him, we look absolutely terrible at times.
I would like to see him stay But if or when he goes i do think Arsenal will be ok with the young stars they have at the moment but they do need a couple of experienced players to come in and a Captain that will push them All through the game, but lets not forget Nasri hasn’t signed yet and that would also be a big loss.
I’m begining to think dat barcelona is delibrately distracting fab. He was compared nd even rated higher than xavi among my co analists,but since their intrest in him,xavi became miles ahead of him. He should think 2wise,concentrate and draw de ateintion of spainish players to himself not d other way round. Afterall they should see reasons to play abroad!!
They aren’t a force with him…….
‘when Henry left, Arsenal became a slightly better team’., ARE YOU SERIOUS.? how many trophies have we won since? IMO if Arsene Wenger can keep this current squad and buy 3world class players, a winger, a hardworking defending midfielder and a defender Arsenal could surely win something. No one in the Arsenal squad can replace Fabregas not even wilshere coz he is not as creative. I WONDER WHY ARSENAL ALWAYS THINK OF SELLING THEIR MATURED PLAYERS WHEN THEY HAVENT PLAYED WELL FOR ONE SEASON.., e.g Arshavin
let him go if he feel like going
fabregas is our best player end of! injury hit season should not cloud our judgement. A fit and firing cesc with a top centre back alongside tv
we r not far away,get rid of the deadwood , denilson squillaci eboue rosicky almunia.
scezny is good enuff to be no1 but defending is our downfall.
BULL!!!!!!!! we cant be a force without cesc, he IS captain,he IS our playmaker, NO ONE reads the game like him, he IS the glue that binds the team, there is absolutely NO WAY we can do without him. i am bloody fed up with people presuming our cesc is going, the ones that have showed interest in buying him he wouldnt go to anyway, and barca cant afford him, arsene doesnt want to let him go, only a few arsenal fans want to see him leave, the majority of us want him to stay. we should be fighting for our leader instead of flogging him to the highest bidder.
We have not won a thing since we decided to build the team around fabregas. The only time we really went close was in 2008, but we needed flamini to do the work of 2 men in midfield to cover for his weaknesses.
There’s no doubt about his talent, he’s one of the best in the world in his position, in fact only xavi is really better, but we play through him far too much, and if he did decide to go, we could start playing to the strengths of the squad, and not just fabregas. Although I was all for it at the time, this 4-3-3 formation has made it extremely tough for a lot of the other squad members. It only really suits fabregas and arshavin, and theo, rvp and a couple of the others have adapted well, but too many players have been hurt by it. Our fullbacks were voted the best in the league before we changed it – I don’t think it’s pure coincidence that clichy and sagna have dropped their form since then.
“…defensive* weaknesses…”