I don’t think any transfer, in my limited time following football, has moved me to the extent this one did. Not even close. And I can’t see it happening again in the future. Regular readers know how much I admire Fabregas, who I rated as the best player in the Premiership. So a part of me feels betrayed and resentful. A thought pops into my head – hope his injury worries get worse and he never truly fulfils his potential.
But then I take a few deep breaths. He deserves better in his life, his career, and from the fans. Once the negative emotions are acknowledged and controlled, it is not hard to see the light. He came as a boy with sublime talent and dreams of making it big, performed miracles on the pitch, always behaved as an immaculate professional, and left with his dignity intact.
The lack of trophies will haunt him and everyone who loves the Arsenal but it certainly wasn’t for want of trying.
The transfer battle was as bad as any custody battle between two estranged parents could get. For that is what Arsenal and Barcelona are to Cesc Fabregas. Most Arsenal fans can’t really stand Barcelona anymore, at least off the pitch, and my feelings for the Catalans in that regard are well documented on this blog. But there is no doubt Arsenal had their share of issues.
Fabregas must have been torn apart by the opposing pulls over the last year or so and that is what makes his professionalism stand out in the modern world. It is impossible to sustain any hostile feelings towards the man once you consider his qualities on and off the football pitch. This is a good interview and I will wait for the time when he can bare his heart out.
I have seen mixed reactions among fans and that seems logical. Not everyone can appreciate the complexity involved. There are way too many speculative opinions around and I don’t want to add to that. Too many facts are unclear, even unknown, and forming opinions on baseless assumptions is a pointless exercise I just don’t have time for.
The key observation – Arsenal are not in the optimal state given the stage of the season – is irrefutable and disconcerting. Do I want to link that with Cesc and tarnish the memories of his magical performances? Absolutely not.
Do I want to dwell on that and twist every event into a miserable knot? No, that is for the misery brigade – people who can’t deal with their emotions and insist on imposing their woes on others.
This is the time to wish Cesc well and remember him for all that he has done for Arsenal Football Club. Then it’s about looking forward.
Fare well Cesc. You will be missed and cherished but I want to concentrate on Udinese now.
We wish him well unless he plays against us. Then he can warm the bench or he can get the flu. Heh.
Absolutely Man. Your’s is one of the few blogs I regularly read, with most others spewing nonsense or pure speculation.
I love Fabregas, and throughout this saga, he has been the utmost professional. And I can imagine his position because I came abroad to study and now have a job, yet I still can imagine going home. It is a difficult choice, and Cesc chose Barcelona. Fair Enough. I wish he does well there. I am a Barca fan on the pitch, because their football is sublime, and I hope that’s where Fabregas shines. If he scored a goal to beat Arsenal someday, I will stand and applaud. And I know Cesc will also show respect to Arsenal.
But it does feel like the end of an era, a rather heavy departure even though it was obvious and I just wanted to get it done with. But I think most Arsenal fans will not have any hard feelings. Just glad he grew up at Arsenal!
Viva cesc fabregas soler…..you ll always be my hero.
Im really glad to have found a desi arsenal blog. Really good job with the blog and keep it up!
We really looked toothless in the midfield this weekend. Rambo and Jack(when he is fit) aren’t mature enough to provide vision and creativity in the center consistently so we need to sign a experienced playmaker immediately. It is not necessary that he should be from EPL as it is not a defensive position so Wenger has a lot of options to choose from in Europe. I will the happiest guy in the world if we sign someone like Sneijder or at least Valbuena( I like gourcuff but he sadly has a long term injury problem) but everything is unclear now, Im just hoping for the best.
Yeah how’s about we sign mikel arteta. He ll fit in perfectly.
“custody battle between two estranged parents” – excellent analogy Desi.
Good piece – I agree with every word.
But if we play Barca in the ECL this year I hope he gifts us a goal with a flashy backheel on the edge of his own box.
You should be changing your theme picture now that Fabregas is gone@
Wow.
I have been feeling low and you captured that desi. Exactly like you said, I never actually thought I’d feel this way about ANY football player, even the legendary Henry.
This however, has really moved me. I feel such a great sense of loss. He has been an absolute professional and I admire and respect him for that. After all, he just wanted to go home. We all do, no matter where we are. This is coming from a man who has been living and working in Ire for the last 10 years.
I wish Cesc the best, he deserves it. I hope no one beats his assist per game ratio, which is the best the EPL has ever seen (fact). Unless it’s a new or existing gunner of course.
You will always be loved, cherished and dearly missed Cesc. I hope you are happy to finally be home.
I would like to wish Cesc all the very best for the future. He gave 110% to the Arsenal cause, and it was only the realisation that he was unlikely to win anything at Arsenal, due to the club’s inability to address their weaknesses in both defence and attack, that he decided it was time to go back “home”.
There are a lot of frustrated supporters out there, the main sticking point being the stubborness or failure of AW to address defensive frailties within the team. Anyway that is a different subject altogether.
Thank you Cesc and wish you all the best for the future.
Fantastic post. You truly write with great passion and make perfect sense with your thoughts, I applaud you.
It is much more than just “home” involved; it is the spirit of Catalonia! Even if Cesc is back up to Xavi and Iniesta, he is a Catalan. When Puyol is gone(and he doesn’t have too many years left) Cesc will be their talisman.
A generation was lost in the Spanish Civil War; they were forbidden to speak their own language until Franco died in 1975. Catalonia is the most productive province of Spain and are still subject to the arrogance of Madrid, not just Real which was Franco’s team.
I don’t like the way Barca conducted themselves in this entire affair and on the pitch in the CL match at Camp Nou last year, but we must admit that Cesc and his father kept this thing going for years.
At last we can stop listening to the nonsense.
I just wish Nasri would go to another country as well!
We are bigger than any player , I’ve supported Arsenal for over 25 years man and boy and as the chant goes…. ” Where were you when we were shit?”
ok fellas…you know what time it is…
TIME FOR ARSENAL TO TAP UP CESC FROM BARCA! 3 years he’ll be back! Come on Jack, start tweeting already about the cesclove.
move on. its done. henry left vierra left pires left (That was the whole theme at arsenal…french connection). we didnt go much farther down did we? we can do this again. its arsene wenger.
To be honest, I for one am feeling hard done by. All throughout I wished someone/ something will change his mind and stay. We have been told that we have a big squad, but I say that squad is full of failures. At Newcastle we lacked everything appart from the GK and defence. Then tomorrow its another hell in store for us, I mean the ECL.
Cesc is gone. Nice times…kind of sad he signed a huge contract knowing that he’d want to go home eventually. Should have thought that one through
But cesc has been amazing. We cannot replace him. We may want to give more green light to a couple more players. We have a lot of magic in this squad. Arshavin is the key. Let Arshavin dictate the game. He is the chosen one by Wenger.The neo to wenger (morpheus). I think the defense is going to be good enough. Just need the extra flair in the middle. EIther these cats turn it up a notch.. or just get an insane raw talent That is all we need! strikers we have a bit …midfield is what we are known for so we have to add talent there. No need for expensive player. This ramsey kid..he is good but he is no jacky wills. Thomas rosiscky is not going to cut it either. two of them together is a waste!
I predict we get Yohan Gourcouff
Desi…as always you get it right. I too feel pangs of depression, some thing that has never happened before, and to see him as a Barcelona player hurts….. I saw Cesc play one of his first games for us (maybe his first) against Wolves in the League Cup and after 20 minutes I recognised another Liam Brady – who in my opinion was the greatest player I ever saw in 50+ years of watching Arsenal.
So long Cesc…enjoy many years of wonderful football, players like you rarely come along and we were privileged to see you for 8 years.
The truth U reap what U Plant we are the best team when U can judge player by player!We can’t win without spending all the players will be leaving when the became stars Nasri can stay & sign if we add mature players look wilsh he knows the problem he says we should add but we are not adding 2 years he say am not signing we say he is not good ok!
The only reason I hate this deal is that it makes Barca unstoppable. They now have the four most creative players in European football.
No ill-feelings, cesc. If i were him, i would have left a long time ago. Nothing is as painful as watching players not even half as good as you wining trophies every year. It’s all wenger’s fault that our big players are leaving.
Fabregas is now an irrelevance to Arsenal football club. We need a focus on the short-term because the team is not nearly strong enough to compete at the top level. How could any Arsenal fan be confident of a result against Udinese with the team we have available let alone Liverpool and Manchester United.
Arsenal are not a big club anymore.
This is just a feeder club.
above comment might not be a pleasant one but it’s the truth in arsene words.
Finishing 4th is the real challenge now.
Desi,
I find little dignity or professionalism in breaking a 5 year contract, not publicly telling his tippy-tap playmates at Barfa to cease and desist for a while at least, and not surrendering the Captaincy last season when he knew, for any with eyes see, that he was leaving. He and Wenger and his Dad played out a psychodrama custody battle, as you very aptly label it, and the fans are left with a situation in which we do not, by Aresene’s own admission today, get back what he would have received on the open market. Very complex, this soap opera, but the pain is palpable, real, and not yet over. This man is no hero to me and never will be. I hope his hamstrings remain a chronic problem and wish he would have demanded that transfer last season instead of leaving us with a bad deal after the season is already underway. Nor is Aresene, who I admire and surely back to the hilt, blameless in this bad deal. I both admire his humanity and protest what it has led to in this season that begins with some heartbreak, however expectable.
for me cesc is a precious toy that we played with who actully belonged to someone else. in a moral world contracts does matter but with cesc some of ust have developed an emotional relation with him over the eight years.he will be missed and will continue to adore him as much as he adores arsenal.
we could’nt match his ambition and that would be a regret for sure
Agree 100% with Robert Spiegelman just above. From a pure footballing standpoint, Cesc was AWOL all last season. He was always quick and intelligent, but is no longer fast(if he ever was) Can’t see him starting ahead of Xavi or Iniesta and can’t see Barca changing their formation for him.
Big question now is do we do anything significant in the 16 days left in the window? If not, all those “feeder club” claims will ring very truly.
Money difference between Champions and Europa leagues cries out for immediate action. Failure to act will show it’s not just about the money. Maybe we could make a run at the Europa cup if we fail to beat Udinese, but to me, that trophy would be as hollow as the Careless Cup would have been even if we had won it. Got to be loyal to the sweater, in any case; wish management were as loyal as the supporters are!
can’t see Barca changing their formation for him.
Most of the time as Arsenal fan, Cesc was my hero. Some may had Henry, Bergkamp or Wright. I have about 12 jerseys under his name. It’s certainly an end of era. He will still be a legend in my eyes while i know many will disagree due to lack of throphy. I guess we always know he’ll move whether or not Arsenal successful. For me, He’s been successfull in laying the foundation for Arsenal FC for the future with the ability to carry the young team consistently in Uefa championship league in the face of our stadium debt. 5,10,15 years from now we’ll remember how Arsene and Cesc lay the foundation for our capability to continue compete at the top, sustainably. Good bye Cesc, we’ll miss you and we will survive.
Think Cesc made mistake. There is no way Csec fit into Xavi role since two players are different. How he gonna fill in Xavi’s boot at Barca? I have no idea.
If Barca fail to win all of those trophies when Cesc take up Xavi’s spot in the team, People would blame Cesc for sure.
Do you really think Cesc would be running back to Barcelona if it was the barca of say 10 years ago ?
Personally for me he took the easy way out , he could of been an Arsenal Legend, created his own legacy and gone down in arsenal folklore . Instead he will be remembered as a player that had great skill , was captain of a team with great skill, that didn’t achieve any on field success.
He may be living a dream of returning to Barcelona , yet as with all those that went before him . Will one day rue the day he left our great club .You say he was torn by the love of two teams . I say that the guy had his head turned by the media in Spain and had been “tapped up ”
Yes he was a good player for us , but by no mean great . Greatness is achieved through success , in any field , let alone football . What did Arsenal football club ever achieve with the captaincy of cesc ! And I’m not upset he’s has gone , just in the manner he has gone and that was more to the lack of forethought of one Arsene Wenger .
quite a good article hear
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2026504/Cesc-Fabregas-transfer-Arsene-Wengers-lies-Barcelonas-arrogance.html