Sì, ja, and oui – in other words, yes. The Cesc Fabregas ‘soap opera’ saga has gone on long enough. It is finally time for Arsene Wenger to pull the plug on the Spanish international and let him return to his boyhood club FC Barcelona.
Fabregas scored 9 goals and had 17 assists in 35 appearances in all competitions for the Gunners last season. What may at first glance appear to have been a fantastic year for Fabregas was anything but. In fact, the past season was a nightmare for both Fabregas and Arsenal. All was good at the Emirates in late February, with the Gunners in line for a possible ‘quadruple’. Then came the collapse of the decade. Arsenal’s season took a turn for the worst on the 27th of February, the Carling Cup Final versus Birmingham City.
A defensive mishap between young goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and central defender Laurent Koscielny cost Arsenal their first trophy since 2005. Two weeks later, they were all but out of all four competitions. The 2010-11 season marked another trophy-less season for Wenger and Arsenal. At the heart of the problem lies captain Cesc Fabregas. He was absolutely dismal in Arsenal’s Champions League tie versus Barcelona, especially in the second leg which Arsenal lost 3-1, not even managing one shot attempt in ninety minutes of play.
After a summer, that repeatedly linked the midfielder to his childhood club FC Barcelona, Fabregas did not build on his great season in 2009-10 when he scored 19 goals and managed 19 assists. The 2009-10 season saw the midfield maestro unlock Premier League defenses on a regular basis. Many football experts believed that Fabregas would eventually return to Barcelona to run the Catalan midfield. Why Wenger kept Fabregas when he could have sold the player for a fee of £50 million last season I cannot understand. But an even more appalling decision by Wenger was giving the captain’s armband to Fabregas in the first place.
The Catalans are reportedly set to announce the signing of Fabregas for £35 million and Chilean winger Alexis Sanchez from Udinese for an undisclosed fee when the international transfer window opens on the 1st of July.
With Fabregas half way out the door, the Gunners can turn to restructuring their club. A good suggestion for Wenger would be to sign Blackburn Rovers centre-back Christopher Samba to bolster a defense that was missing a physical presence last season. As for how to replace somebody of Fabregas’ stature – that’s another question entirely. The fact remains however, that the Cesc Fabregas saga must come to an end.
Click HERE to see the original article. This article was first published on ThisIsFutbol
Written by Shawn Etemadi
Until we sell some players over the age of 21 we wont be signing anyone over the age of 21 its plain and simple. We already have 26 players over 21 and next summer will have a further 7 joining that list. The board will sanction signings once outgoing loan deals or sales have been confirmed.
Cesc, Clichy and Nasri leaving will allow Wenger to bring in 3 players. I think he had hoped that Denilson, Bendtner and Almunia would have been sold by now, but no one wants them.
Actually, Arsenal would be better off without Arsene Wenger.
@WillyG : you’d be surprised at how wrong you are. it is a bit frustrating at the moment, but i disagree with you.
“Many football experts believed that Fabregas would eventually return to Barcelona to run the Catalan midfield. Why Wenger kept Fabregas when he could have sold the player for a fee of £50 million last season I cannot understand” Please remind me who bid £50mill last year.. most we got was £32m from C**taloniyians!!!! Made up crap from some1 with very lil knowledge.. And dont say Chelsea or man city he only wants to go one to FC C**ts
The overall Window has only just opened and has 8 long weeks to run. Plenty of time for buying and selling, so no need for alarm. Leave all the decisions to the Emirates experts who know best.A lot is going on behind the scenes that we will never know about. Come the end of the Window, I forecast we will be pleasantly surprised with the new blood. Have patience ’til then.
I totally agree with you.
He must go now.
He was the cause of destabilising the team last season, did not play like an/the AFC player he was,
and should not be allowed to further destabalise the coming season.
As good as he is, unless he re-commits to AFC, he should be sold now.
And, Nasri would probably sing at once if he goes.
Time to rebuild team on someone who wants to be there at AFC.
To quote you ‘Why Wenger kept Fabregas when he could have sold the player for a fee of £50 million last season I cannot understand.’
Barcelona were not prepared to offer anywhere near £50 million last year, don’t be so ridiculous. You are as bad as the newspapers for providing mis information.
I like fans with positive mind set like nicky,tay and others, not willy or what your name is. Arsenal is a club with one of the most finest coach around in wenger, an expert in mind set. Cesc,nasri and clichy are all good player but to the fact they lack manner should be a concern. Among the three, cesc and clichy have patient, served the the with they heart, nasri is based on montary aspect of it, which i can blame on africa sence of judgment. We are better off without them because they did not come from the moon,so they have replacement. Mata,alverze,cahill and samba can do the job perfectly. I trust wenger because he cares for arsenal and will do his best
Why look at stats to try and make a point…. i could tell you denilson is one of the top players in the league on his passes completed ratio or that arshavin assists make him one of the most valuable players in the world!
Frankly put statistics mean nothing to the individual and really only begin to show any form of importance when looking at the collective.
Denilson is poor and arshavin has been missing for the better part of 2 years!
Cesc on the other hand is arsenals mvp …. we lose games when he doesn’t play and we win when he does. The guys stats may say one thing but the whole team pick up when he is on the pitch, there are much less collapses and he more often then not starts play for us.
Is it time to lose cesc….. for 35 million, absolutely not
WENGER SHOULD LEAVE. NO SIGNING, 30 DAYS INTO THE WINDOW AFTER THAT SPECTACULAR COLLAPSE. THE FANS DO NOT BELIEVE IN HIM ANYMORE, THE PLAYERS DO NOT, FORMER PLAYERS DO NOT. WHY IS THIS MAN STILL MANAGER AFTER SIX TROPHYLESS YEARS. IS ARSENAL SUCH A SMALL CLUB WITH NO AMBITION. WHY ARE ALL THE FANS NOT MAKING NOISE ABOUT THIS.