Friday 18 September 2009

Is it me or does Cesc Fabregas look like a man with the world on his shoulders?

I hope I'm not making a mountain out of a mole hill here but I'm worried about our little darling Cesc Fabregas.

I hate to say it but I've watched him in recent games and he doesn't seem right. His body language and the way he is playing suggests that he either has things on his mind or he is just short of confidence.

It's obvious he loves Arsenal, he has said he is more than happy here plenty of times, but perhaps there is something just niggling away at the back of his mind.

It's hard to criticise Cesc because he is the skipper and the face of Arsenal football club but I think that maybe he has had his head turned slightly. I reckon in the summer, when on international duty, Fabregas was tapped up yet again.

Now I don't think that Cesc has to publicly declare that he is staying at Arsenal again, he does enough already, but I think he needs to have a serious thinking session with himself. If he is having doubts about being at Arsenal then he seriously needs to weigh up his options.

I'd imagine that the idea of playing for Barcelona is very attractive, especially for a young Catalan like himself. It's like Arsenal wanting to sign me or you as a youngster. Would a move to Barca be a good one for him in the next couple of years? I don't think so.

However good Fabregas is, I think he would struggle to get into the Barcelona side at the moment. In my opinion Barca have the best midfield partnership in the world. Of course Barca are the cream of Spain and Europe but I don't think Fabregas would be happy getting splinters in his arse from the bench.

Of course there would be hysteria in Barca at the capture of Fabregas but how long would that last? At Arsenal he is loved by Gooners and will be forever. He is the lynchpin at Arsenal, numero uno, and pretty much has the side built around him. At Barca he would be just one of the boys.

I understand he is ambitious, I know he wants to win things. He can at Arsenal but firstly he needs to shake off this "hang-over" and begin to show us the Fabregas we all know because if Fabregas is buzzing so is this Arsenal team. And a buzzing Arsenal are untouchable.

Keep it Goonerish..........

55 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe he has realised just how poor the ppl he's playing alongside.

Anonymous said...

he definatelty not his best.The people around him are playing well and he needs to up his game.He has been really poor lately.

Unknown said...

anon - the people around him are playing better than him at the moment, I am sure this will be short term though, TR looking good the other night.

Really makes me laugh how as soon as a couple of games are lost all comments at the end of your great blog are negative....where were all the moaners when we beat everton 6-1, honestly strap a pair on and get behind them

Anonymous said...

you are right. I was at celtic for the 1st CL round. After the game he just walked into the tunnel and never cam to see us. I wonder if Barca have finialy got his head truned.If his heart isn't with us anymore maybe he should be allowed to leave.

Anonymous said...

The people around him are playing well and he needs to up his game.

Are you mad !
It's because of the people around him that we are talking about this. Imagine thinking that he could be playing alongside Xavi, Iniesta and Messi when in fact he's got Diaby , Song and Denilson.

Anonymous said...

hes a great player but if he doesnt want to play for us anymore then it would be better for him to go. although this would deeply upset us gooners because without him our midfield is very average

Anonymous said...

I hate to agree with the first comment, but I do. I think he's fed up of not having people on his wavelength to play with. If Arshavin, RvP, Nasri and Rosicky were all playing together, you'd see a different Cesc.

He certainly doesn't look like he's enjoying his football..

Unknown said...

i dont buy this theory about how the rest of the team are really much poorer than fabregas. Arshavin, Rosiky, Gallas, Nasri, Van Persie, Vermaelen, Eduardo are all top internationals. As captain if those guys aren't playing its his job to get the best out of the replacements. It's a poor excuse. If he's not happy he needs to work out why and get his game back on.

Anonymous said...

hahaha you lot love him forever....you gooners don't love half your players when there even playing for you......I'll just mention Eboue!!!

He knows he made a mistake staying and watching the pasting you lot took off City made him 1000% sure he had.....

Welcome back to obscurity Arse fans, your days of actually being challengers is over!!!

Anonymous said...

He really hasn't had much of a break b/c of international duty and he looks worn out.

Rosicky looks to be helping w/ the squad and when Nasri gets back in Cesc won't have to play alongside the likes of Diaby any longer, but rather players he can link w/ and play together with.

Diaby looks like he is alone out there, but has one moment of brilliance and Wenger keeps his faith.

I'd say put in Ramsay and let him learn along side Cesc and Rosicky.

Goooooner said...

I think Cesc will be on his way in the summer, especially if he has a good World Cup. Look at the past few years, we've always sold at least one high profile player for a profit. Henry, Hleb, Adebayor, Toure have all been sold, and in some instances not been replaced.

I understand that moving to the Grove was an essential and expensive move to make. I also know that sales for the apartments at what used to be Highbury have been low. What annoys me is on one hand the club say Wenger can spend £30m+, bit on the other hand he has to sell one or two players to help lessen the debt.

Anyway, back to my original point, Cesc is the highest valued player at the club, we have potential replacements already (Ramsey, maybe even Merida). If we have another struggling season, and Barca/Real offer £30m+, can you really see us saying no?

Anonymous said...

You are spot on. Any objective Arsenal fan would have noticed that he has not been his best yet, he seems to wonder what he is still doing at the club. It is hard to criticise him being a great player and having professed his love and commitment to the club. My bet is, another trophiless season, he will be gone. Where, I cannot tell. Barca? he will only provide Pep more options in the middle like in the Spain national team. The duo of Xavi and Iniesta are just unbeatable at the moment in the world!Love him so much, so I hope he does not end up like Hleb. Would really love him to stay. Hope the Boss can buy some quality players to convince him to stay. A very good GK (Alumnia is honestly not good enough and the back ups are not premiership quality not to talk of Europe),a DM and RB.Sagna needs a back up and Eboue is not it.

Anonymous

Anonymous said...

Paul : The problem with the guys you have specified is that they do not directly partner Cesc in the middle. He spends a lot of his time covering up and it affects his game. Get a better partner and you get a better Cesc.

Paul No1 Fan said...

It's true he's not at his best but he's a great player and will come good this season. Talent like that won't stay quiet for long

Laspeyres said...

Well, he is paid £80k a week, to play about 90 minutes of football, so I suggest he either bucks up or fucks off.

Anonymous said...

Yeah he looks pissed off, i would be season after season we sell our best players and replace them fucking 15 year olds, as wenger and board are lieing fucking arsehole's who live in the past. Last year 4 cesc and dont blame him, he should be winning medals, trust me he wont at arsenal because each season we are getting worse..... And fuck off before u tell me to go surport chelsea, spurs or city. Wake up!

Unknown said...

I agree, if he had someone world class playing alongside him, it would make him look better. Anyone is better when they have less work to do and can concentrate on the things they do well. There are only a very small handful of clubs in the world where every player in every position is world class. If thats what he really wants, he can take his choice and risk not being the main main. As a captain of the club you have the responsibility of bringing the best out of your teammates, if it's something he is not willing or able to do he should not be captain.

Of course he might just need a couple of games to get back in the groove and we'll all be happy. Lets wait and see.

Anonymous said...

he just needs some reassurance after the back to back loses at Manchester..I was so sure arsenal would walk all over the manchester teams..especially United..so he just needs a little reassurance..wenger obviously has a job to do now..he has got to have some cesc talk..

Unknown said...

I see it diferently Wrighty7.Cesc seems bedraggled with the weight of being captain and playmaker to a team of largely average(apologies) and yet-to-mature players.First he has to dictate the pace and flow of play and then he has to rally the troops. Finally, the new formation and the team as it is now is built around him. The likes of Messi, Ronaldo, Xavi, Torres, Villa, Kaka, Eto'o, Rooney, Lampard, and the rest do not play same roles.They are able to concentrate on playing and dont have to worry about driving the team forward.

If Wenger can help the lad by giving captainship tno either Arshavin or Vermaelen who look like they have the extra drive to both pplay well and drive a team due to experience.

On the Barca issue, it depends on Cesc really. Henry experienced something similar when he got to Barca.In Arsenal he was captain and the face of the club.In Barca, he was just one of the stars, definitely ecplised by Ronaldinho(then), Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, Eto'o.He struggled first but later adjusted.He is looking better now but will never be the Henry we knew in Arsenal;one thing is that he looks like he has settled it in his heart and has adjusted to it.Will Fabregas do so, playing at home and starting from the bench after the honey moon expires?

Anonymous said...

Definitively agree that the captaincy is affecting our players since Vieira left.
Still I think winning the Euro went to his head. He came back deciding he won't defend anymore and his new attacking role doesn't suit him as well.
It's really sad to say but it's been a while we play better as a team without him. I really hope AW can help him get back to his best.

Mike said...

What a depressing place! If u lot want to keep damning the team u claim to support good luck to u. Don't need any more baseless nonsense so I'm out!!

Anonymous said...

It makes me laugh when people say you are not a supporter if you dare to criticize the team or any player....

Should everyone just sit back and keep paying inflated prices without raising an eyebrow at sub standard football from certain players then?

Real supporters care and are passionate and will heap praise when it due and point out obvious faults when they see them too...fans are entitled to opinions.

So down to business...
1.Cesc was out for a large part of last season so shouldnt be tired.
2. V's Everton he was running the show...
3. Anyone who has ever played football at any level and is half decent will know how demoralising it is to play with rubbish players who cant do the simple things.
4. I reckon cesc doesnt think about his pay packet during a match so whether he gets paid a pound or a million a match doesnt make him run faster etc..
5. Wenger and his assistants are not under enough pressure. The board have accepted the whole 'stadium will hinder our ability for a few years' spin, so on we plod.
6. How can there not be a 27 year old grafting midfielder and a decent goalkeeper in the world good enough for us to sign?
7. Wenger said previously all managers should retire after 20 years in the business as they get stale...

Paasche said...

good points made. On the pay front, while I accept that it does not enter the player's mind while he is on the pitch, I think it is nevertheless relevant. The relevance is that £80k a week represents a lot of money from a lot of fans. I have no idea, what, if anything is wrong with Fabregas. However, I can not accept, as some early comments seemed to, that he is not playing well because his head is elsewhere. That is not an option when you are paid like these guys are.

Dutchaa aka Sriram said...

Ok I have had enough of this shit. People saying all are average and useless. Really the only average player in the starting line up is Almunia. Diaby is not your regular starter. As a matter of fact fabragas hasn been tracking back this entire season. If you had watched all the games he doesn even make himself available for a pass from defense. Song has been more than a decent player. He has been playing constantly well. Only Essien and Flecther are better player in EPL in that position.(yes not masharano) Accepted that Barca team is better. But shouldn a world class player like fabragas make the lesser mortals around him better???????

Davi said...

Well I wasnt impressed with cesc in pre-season, he looked the worst of our midfielders, and obviously last season he was largely very poor. However, in the first 2 or 3 games this year he looked excellent. Back to his old self.
I think hes been carrying an injury since then though and rushed himself back. We showed against Man Utd Cesc isnt indispensable and the others can do the job when required, but perhaps with arshavin being out as well wenger wants him in the side which is understandable.

TonyAdams said...

anyone fancy a pint?

Anonymous said...

Cesc is the latest player to get a slating it never stops each week a differet player at AFC.

Cesc looks most happy when playing for Spain he is surrounded by a great midfield and experienced players.

He is carrying a groin injury and I suspect that he is not fully fit but is playing.

Each summer AFC sell experience and don't buy players no wonder Cesc gets fed up they need to splash the cash.

Anonymous said...

Come on you guys, simply Cesc is going through a bad phase it can happen to anyone soon he will be the Cesc we all know. Put aside all the conspiracy theories and give him a break.I mean ok we lost two games it is not the end of the world. The Pl just started !

Anonymous said...

What is this all about ?
Cesc played during the summer for Spain so he came back a few weeks later than the rest.
He started on fire, remember Everton you blind fools ?
But he picked up an injury and then played for Spain to soon my guess.
He then got a terrible tackle from that cunt A££$$££$$or and he plays for us wounded.
He had a 94% pass accuracy in Liège and you are sitting on his back?
What do you want ? A robot that doesn't make mistakes ????
Wait a hundred years or so I suggest then we can go and watch 11 robots play each other.
You all will be very happy I guess because they make no more human mistakes.

Anonymous said...

mate.. u have to see who is playing alongside him.

See him playing for spain and u'll get the answer.

he plays alongside xavi and iniesta and matches them throughout and many a times outshines them.

the arsenal midfield is week.. throw in someone like xabi alonso to partner him and he will be a different man on the pitch..

by being captain we can only imagine the pressure on him. barca obviously sees something special in him, otherwise they would never bother.

cesc is the best player that we have.. alongside arshavin. wenger needs to get some more talent otherwise by bye cesc

cheers
S

Lady Arsenal said...

Cesc is not a great attacking midfielder. His best role is picking up the ball off the back 4 and pinging it short or long with great accuracy before the opposition has organised their defence.

You can't wait until teams have got 9,10 players behind the ball and expect him to unlock it, it's not fair. He hasn't got the pace or the skill to do it. His best attribute is long passing. He is our no. 4 for a reason.

Playing him alongside both Song and Denilson is basically telling him that he should be our number 10, and we have better players for that role.

The point is really that Cesc will pick anyone out anywhere on the park if they show for him. But we look slow and lazy as an attacking unit, epitomised by 'Joggin' Van Persie.

Just wait until we have the intelligent movement of the likes of Rosicky, Nasri, Arshavin and Eduardo all interchanging. Until then, Cesc cannot carry Arsenal like Henry did.

Anonymous said...

the best fabregas played alongside flamini. bring back flamini.

Anonymous said...

I understand where youre coming from, but the performance of almost every player was dire in the last game, so that one can be written off.

It was almost as if they had a ruck before kick off or they were poisoned the night before!

Anonymous said...

We can't avoid cesc thinking 'seemingly' better future at Barce because he's young and w/ quality... But experience told us arsenal no. 1 is not well emphasized unless the position is vacant... Think about Henry could hardly compete with messi and eto'o ...And hleb cannot secure a midfield position... I imagine cesc cannot take over Xavi or inesta, because they're very same kind of player.. This has been proven in Spain national that cesc has never been focused.. I think cesc should wait for 2-3 years until some changes have happened to Xavi so that cesc can then grasp the chance of climbing up.. It's better for him to stay these years..

Masoni said...

I have read with interest allwhat the gooners had too discuss about Cesc. Indeed the team is mould around him and the 4 3 3 formation was crafted to get the best out of our Maestro. But to say the least he suffering something different from the people he is playing around him. Our defensive midfield has been been great. At any given time Cesc has two players covering his back in the midfield and this gives him the best opportunity to link up the strikers. Right now, cesc, clichy, Almunia and partly Sagna are suffering from something that we are not really aware off. Plus Diaby cannot track back to assit any of our fullbacks. How many times have we been exposed in the midfield coz song is covering for the fullbacks especially clichy. That is where our weakness are coming from.
If Cesc continues with this attitude then I hate to say this, he should be sold. We have enough replacements who can dictate the game from the middle. We all know Arshavin is not a winger and he can replace Cesc in the middle. Nasri has done a decent job in the middle as well. Dont forget the young catalan Merida and Rambo Ramsey.
Wenger can save Cesc by first stripping him the captainship and let Varmaleen lead the side alongside the likes of Arshavin and Song. I am a gooner for life

8 inch knob said...

I have been saying this for a long time now but I think that Fabregas' biggest problem is that he has been found out in this league. Other teams now know that without time and space his game falls apart as does the fluency of the team as a whole, so these days inevitably he is a marked man.

However this shouldn't be any excuse because Iniesta and Xavi are also marked men but they are able to create time and space through intelligent dribbling.

Fabregas has completely neglected his defensive duties resulting in us having to play two defensive midfielders and increased defensive burden for the other two midfielders.

If you ask me, Fabregas is the player who hasn't progressed much in the last few years whereas all our other players have. So much so that I now think that Diaby, Nasri or Ramsey would be better players to play.

Fabregas is at a cross road in his career where he has to decide whether to develop his attacking qualities or defensive ones. Can he become like an Iniesta? A pacy, dribbling goal scoring midfielder? I don't think so. He has to become more like Xavi, an intermediate central midfielder (neither too attacking nor too defending) possessing short and long range passing accuracy, likes to play deep and tracks back and defends. This is what Fabregas must become and this is the biggest area he must improve in - his defensive discipline.

The problem is that we already have a player like Xavi who also happens to be one of the best in the EPL and that's Denilson.

For me at least the battle is between Denilson and Cesc and as it stands Denilson is winning it.

Unknown said...

Fellow Gunners...

The media is doing enough to try and force Fabregas out of Arsenal. I would not like to see more of the same in blogs written by Gunners. He is a bit off his game for the last 2 matches, but, I'm sure he will find form. He is a magical player and I think it's absolutely necessary for him and the club to stay together for atleast a couple of years. He may join Barca when Xavi retires.

Till then, no transfer talk please.

looneygooner said...

watching Cesc score today he still looks like he doesn't want to be at Arsenal anymore, his body language suggests he has had enough of playing football that isn't good enough anymore to challenge for the major honours.
Wenger's refusal to strengthen the squad has probably convinced Cesc he will be better off somewhere else.
How Diaby continues to play for Arsenal is a complete mystery, RvP is not worth the 80,000 a week, he still needs too many chances and still can't shoot on his right foot, he needs to learn from Arshavin.
4-0 today was okay but the team for a long time had no urgency, good to see Tomas back playing well and Vermaelen should be made captain because Cesc is a poor captain with no leadership, let him concentrate on his football which has gone missing these last few games

Anonymous said...

Im chiku... silent bt regular reader ov ths blog. I got 2 say ths is one of the best pieces bout arsenal..ANYWHERE..big up nd keep it up

Anonymous said...

Im chiku... silent bt regular reader ov ths blog. I got 2 say ths is one of the best pieces bout arsenal..ANYWHERE..big up nd keep it up

8 inch knob said...

*sighs* Fabregas was poor again today.

Last two matches!!! He has been poor ever since winning the Euro 2008 (of which he had a minimal part, I'd like to add).

Truth is, he is shit and it pisses me off when so called gooners are looking through rose-tinted glasses allowing his piss poor play yet slagging off the likes of Denilson and Diaby.

I would much rather have Denilson, Diaby, Nasri and Ramsey than Fabregas.

Fabregas can't shoot, slowest player I've ever seen, too many misplaced passes (94% pass accuracy against Liege my ass - I counted at least 15 misplaced passes), doesn't score enough, pathetically weak, doesn't track back and gets bullied like he's a 10 year old kid playing football.

He is the shittiest No. 4 I've ever seen and compared to PV4, isn't worthy of licking the shit off his boots.

It's about time Wenger sold the moddy Catalonian prick.

The future is Diaby, Ramsey, Nasri and Merida.

abid said...

wow..with the negativity here you'd be confused if this was really an Arsenal blog.

Pathetic. You people who call yourselves fans but can't even support our own players.

I'm upset about cesc as well. Why? Because I care about him a lot. Its odd to come on here and slagging Cesc off. How pathetic.

I thought I might come on here and find some good discussion. Instead, the usual rubbish from some idiots who can't even get some perspective on things.

Its really disgusting how you can talk that away about the Captain of our club. Forget all the years Cesc has given us, forget about the passion RvP gives to the club and how much we depended on him last season...no forget all of that. Your ignorance is shocking really.

Everyone can see that Cesc is not happy and I pray that its due to something else and not Arsenal.

Anonymous said...

I'm pretty sure he's got a knock on his ankle and is worried about missing some of the next games.

Anonymous said...

no offence to the fellow gooners but to say the reason cesc is not playing well is because he thinks the team around him are not good enough is rubbish pro footballers should not have that mentallity at the end of the day he practically lives with every man he walks out onto the field with every sat the are all amigos willing to go down fighting together no matter how good you are compared to your captain thats a fact and i know it to be true from exp. hes prob just had all the barca players rattling in his ear during the international break and its either made him think twice or it hes fed up of it and its getting him down and therefore needs a few weeks to get it out of his system. we will come good i believe wenger when he says he wants to buy but the options are either to expensive or the clubs want more than the players true value or the players on his shortlist dont want to move i would hope in jan he would sign chemakh, vander der vaart and anothe center mid or centre back then we will be cooking on gas. give are little mystro time and all you gooners fortunate enough to have a ticket for the arsenal start showing him how much we love him and want him to remain as our new mr arsenal.

Anonymous said...

Ok. Cesc's job is to create opportunities and score the odd goal. In a team averaging over 3 goals per game he himself has scored 3 goals in 4 EPL appearances.Hmmmmmmm, is that a player out of sorts?? Get a life you sad f***wits !

Anonymous said...

guys fabri is human and has the right to feel bad sometimes and play poorly he is not a macheeeeeen even though im a gooner i still would love to c him win trophies and it will not happen with us at the moment we are not a good team beating Everton and wigan is not enough we are very very poor when facing strong teams doese any one think we can beat Chelski be honest to your self we need to buy a lot of good players so we can hang on to the good ones we have now ( VERY FEW ) Adybarndoor and RVP and Bendt are not gunners matrial did we forget how ngood we wrer when we had Wright and TITI and Pires and Overmars and ofcource BERGkamp we loos players every year we are a KG team ( kinder garden ) i hope Fabri leaves and doese well were ever he ends up he diserves it.

Bryce said...

The way he didn't celebrate his goal on Saturday was clear evidence he has had enough at Arsenal.

Don't blame the guy - Arsenal is all about buying youngsters and making profits on them a few years later.

(p.s. I'm an Arsenal fan).

Unknown said...

I noticed that as well Bryce

Anonymous said...

Are you kidding me! Maybe he didn't celebrate because it was 4-0. It's not like it was a game-winner. There was no need to rub Wigan's noses in it! It looked like he had picked up a knock a bit earlier, and he still made a 40 yard run in the 90th minute to score that goal. I'll agree that he's not playing up to his (very high) standards, but give the guy a break! I'm not saying you can't criticize the captain, or the club's performance, but we've had 5 games, 3 away from home, and 2 of those were against quality opponents that we outplayed and got unlucky. And correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Cesc sit out the United match. I think if Arshavin was healthy to face City, Cesc would have sat out that one too, but as captain he sucked it up for the club! He's obviously still carrying an injury, and yet he still goes out because he loves playing and loves the Arsenal

abid said...

Bryce - the fact that you have to clarify that you're an arsenal fan just goes to show how pathetic and stupid your comment was.

If this team isn't good enough for you, why not go support someone else? Like, Chelski for instance or Citeh? Those teams seem much much closer to what you desire.

blah blah, the club is bigger than the players. We all know that. But while these players play for us, they're a part of our team as much as we are fans of the club. Don't give me that shit about

We scored 4 goals yesterday while not playing at our best for gods sake! What do you idiots need to make you happy?

abid said...

*shit about our players not playing with heart of being good enough

Anonymous said...

Oh where to begin:
First, I think the 4-3-3, which I like is to give a place up front for all our strikers, and everyone moans about how weak the midfield is, so go with what your stregth is. As Gen Jackson said: 'The best defense is a good offense.'
I certainly hope Cesc's gloomy mood the last little while has been a matter of being banged up and tired. If it's something else, like wanting to go to Barca, well that's bad, because he's no good to us if his head isn't in it.
But I find it hard to believe people are saying he's playing with rubbish. Arshavin ain't rubbish. Rosisky has looked good in his return. Nasri has moment of brilliance. And I'm starting to think Denilson and Song can learn this game. Oh, and I forgot Wolcott.
So hopefully getting Arshavin and Nasri back and maybe a couple of games to rest up, will put the spring back in his step.
If he absolutely wants to go to Barca, not much to do but wish him well and move ahead.
I mean, who can blame him if he wants to go home? But, having watched some homegrown players in baseball, it's not always the best place to play. Lots of pressure.

St. Louis Gooner said...

I don't think Arshavin and Rosisky and Nasri are rubbish. I also think Song and Denilson are getting better. I like the 4-3-3 because it gives us a chance to play Eduardo, Van Piersie and Arshavin up front where they belong.
If Cesc wants to leave, he'll leave. If he's just banged up (I hope) maybe a week of will help.

bluemoon said...

I think he still thinks about the last EPL game that the team lose.

Anonymous said...

yeah but th fing is
hes brilliant wit his goals assists...
buh its like he seems 2 be duinn all th work tbh
and u du get pissed of
buh hope he stays in arsenal