Do Arsenal fans really still miss Cesc Fabregas?
To allow Cesc Fabregas to return to Barcelona was probably one of the toughest decisions Wenger had to make in his Arsenal managerial career. Cesc was the main conductor of the Arsenal orchestra, the skipper of the team and the inspiration of the players. Many factors had to be considered before letting Cesc leave the club. There were pros and cons regarding the Cesc’s move though.
Positives
1) The Gunners midfield is more united. Without Cesc, the players play without any sort of pressure now. The ‘pass to Cesc’ mentality has disappeared. The Arteta and Ramsey combination backing the wing play of Walcott and Gervinho was one of the best I have seen in ages.
2) Van Persie steps up as skipper. The scintillating goalscoring form of Van Persie has been exquisite since he took over as captain of Arsenal. 18 goals already this campaign and Van Persie is now the best offensive player in the premier league. If this continues, Arsenal could have a serious push at the trophies come the later part of the season.
3) The transfer fee. The money we got from the Fabregas move was used to invest in players such as Santos, Mertesacker and Arteta. These new signings are proving to be masterstrokes from Arsene as they impressed time and time again.
Negatives.
1) Number of goals and assists from midfield. Cesc was a bright spark and he was notching up goals and assists consistently from midfield. Since his departure, Arsenal have been lacking the numbers in this department.
2) Loss of a midfield maestro. Without Cesc, Arsenal look aimless at times. There is no real man that takes charge of our midfield offense and game play.
It is of course important to note that Cesc wanted to leave for Barcelona. He did not put in his everything in his last season with the club. All I am angry about regarding the transfer is that with Xavi and Iniesta, Barcelona did not really need the service of Cesc. All they wanted was to ‘snatch back’ what was theirs a few years ago. Over time, my anger was appeased slowly as I remembered Arsene knows best when selling a player. Besides, no one ever left and did greater things…….
Do Arsenal really miss their old captain?
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what we really miss here is our Titi The Legend hero..please boss, bring him back home…
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
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Yeah we do.. But we’re arsenal we create legends we always have we will find another in the coming seasons I’m sure.
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I really love that quote “besides, no one ever left and did greater things”. Definitely miss fab but i totally agree with gunner1984.. we do create legends.
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I think the players got over it quicker than the fans, but I still think both parties would welcome another maestro in the centre. Jack Jack Jack I know… but would be nice to have Gotze or someone as highly rated as him.
I think the money for Cesc is more a con than a pro btw, 30mil + add ons…. even Barca laughed in our faces afterwards. I think the 24mil we got for Na$ri was more of a pro considering he was on his last year and wanting to leave.
Yep I still miss him, but invest that money back into a solid young promising replacement that has a long future at Arsenal (pref not a Barca teenager).
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
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I will always love fabregas..:e has given so much to our club…Arsenal fOr liFe!!
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no doubt i miss his mindblowing passes,taking on the attack with a one two, and so on.imo,only xavi’s more precise than fab.easily in the world’s top 3 attacking midfielders no doubt. its quite a confusion 4 fans if a creative player or a forward is needed considering depth in d middle.maybe gotze or wilshere can replace him sufficiently..but as wenger predicted,its is more a team now but not as entertaining…
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
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of corse we all miss cesc. who wudnt miss a class player like him. he was a legend at arsenal and always will be. but i think the team are adapting well without him and will continue to get stronger and stronger when jack returns. arteta has done well in the middle, but hes no cesc, but im sure he will tell you that himself. hes a different kind of player and the more arsenal get used to his style, the better we will become. am sure also that when cesc innevitably returns to the emirates in the red and blue of barca he will get the great reception he deserves. unlike the greedy shits, nasri and adebayor. only this time cesc!!!! were gonna win.
,
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
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We do miss cesc’s face but not his captaincy(rvp has done a better job) nor his skills (arteta n ramsey r handling that pretty well) if ramsey starts scoring goals soon,I doubt if we’d remember he ever played 4 us.arsenal is greater than missing one player,we create stars,we are the great arsenal
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
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I will always miss him ive even started watching barca play just for him but his departure means less creativity in midfield because ramsey is no where near him but has a better side too we have more cover to the defence than we ever did cesc jack song dominant midfield creative ramsey song arteta solid mid defensive we have to rely on the wingers for creativity
Opinions divided. What do you think?
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I miss him but I like the cohesion of our midfield so far this year. The creative spark we need is jack, he was just beginning to show cesc like vision and through balls at the end of last year. Word to @rocky, the money only becomes a positive if it is reinvested well into solid, proven talent. Santos, arteta and co.’s arrival was paid for by the transfer kitty Arsenal had set aside in the summer so there should be around 55 mil of the cesc and nasri fees left to spend. In either of the next two windows, there should be moves made to strengthen our team, especially the 2nd squad.
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did any1 notice that iniesta didnt get involved in pressurising referee 2 show rvp d card.now hes one of those few gentlemans at barca.after the cesc saga,i have totally lost respect 4 d arrogant xavi.(tho hes been d world player,yet a bad role model )
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I think all Arsenal fans were prepared for life without Fabregas. He was always going to go. I agree with @Rocky we are lacking a maestro, and certainly Goetze fits that bill wonderfully. Wilshere and Goetze would be something else! with Arteta and Ramsay rotating.
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FabHeWas is just old news now. Yeah some of us miss him which is understandable. Myself included. There comes a time when a team needs to rebuild and it’s better sooner than later. Thankfully, Wenger’s genius has proved the doubters wrong again! Losing 2 world class players initially hurt us, but it also made Arsenal a stronger team. A team guilty of getting its hands dirty now. GOD BLESS THE WIT THAT NOW COMES WITH GRIT!
We’re not so dependent on one player even though the media refuse to believe that RVP gets his goals due to the involvement of the team. That last Wigan game witnessed 33 passes until Gervinho slotted it home. RVP was actually at the end of that play, causing the keeper to fumble it with his strike and Gervinho tapped it home. We’re renowned for this type of football and it’s not the first time we’ve made so many passes to reach our goal. Pardon the pun. Paparazzi, eat my bun of odorous excretion!
With Fab onside, he was more of a direct player, often scooping it over the defence for Walcott to run onto. This simple play tormented Barcelona in the CL last season. He’d also look for the most efficient pass to cut the defenders and find his striker making the runs. At times Fab directed his pass to where the striker or winger should be. RVP, Nasri,Rosicky, Walcott and Fab all had this understanding between them. Fabregas was the epicentre of all the action and without him through injury last year, we looked like headless chooks.
On the contrary, without the Spaniard and the additions of Arteta, Benayoun, Ox and defenders, Arsenal have had to fight to get their wins and it is this element that Arsenal have lacked in the last few years, not to mention the added experience on board. Last year when we were down 1-0 without Fab, I was apprehensive every minute of the game thinking, “Oh shit, we’re screwed”. Nowadays the heart palpitations are few and far in between, convalescing rapidly to the tunes of Arsenal climbing the EPL ladder.
Fabregas’ move did finally ensure he won a trophy, in fact he won 2 in 10 days with Barcelona, which is just “hotspud” banter considering he didn’t contribute to the team prior to the Cup games. Motioning the words of “jump on the bandwagon”.
Do I miss Fabregas? Come to think of it now, NO not really. Arsenal now have “COJONES” which is Spanish for BALLS! A word not in Fab’s lexicon!
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
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Would I have liked Fabregas to Stay? Yes.
Is Arsenal today weaker without Fabregas? No.
Can a player like Fabregas Improve the Team? Yes.
Gonner Forever? OFCOURSE!!!!
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
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we should of probly just loaned him to morwich city to get more premie league experience..i dont know, thats all i know
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Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Out of tune?. Like or Dislike:
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Being a good leader is not only leading by example, but also having the moral courage to set your troops straight. Fab led by example but he didn’t lead.
RVP is more vocal. Remember when Diaby was given that red which saw us draw 4-4 with Newcastle after a 26min 4-0 lead? There were some words from RVP to Diaby in the halftime break regarding the stupid foul, which in turn threw the victory away. The Dutchman is doing what any respected leader does, and that’s talk to his team and direct them when needed. Fabregas is the type of player that gets along well with his peers and obviously respected by them for his exceptional talent. In my books this isn’t enough.
A true leader has the moral courage to stand up for what is right which I believe RVP does very well. Now combine this with his form and currently you have an Arsenal Captain that has the balls and fight in him to go to war! Let’s not be nostalgic and reminisce about the days when Arsenal were sheep, led by another sheep. I am my brother’s keeper but Van Persie is my Shepherd!
Parable Robin 10:10 (The Rise of Persie)
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
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fabregas makes the difference in big games. afc have always been good its just certain players make a difference in the big ones. eg spurs,man u, barca,chelsea wins come from his assists but maybe this season his postion isnt as important as long as rvp stays fit but its gamble. goetze maybe needed
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This is a different team than when fab4 was the captain. A team just as strong if not stronger. Cmon you reds!!
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I think we can do without him, and we should, but i wouldnt mind a come back lol …
wilshere is surely the man filling the gap … an attacking midfielder is what we really need i’d say …
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@ymoola
100% agree with u mate…Players like him have always made THE difference in big games…Miss him like hell
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it’s not like we are crap without cesc, but cesc was intergral to the style of play, always composed, protecting the ball in midfeild, buying the attacking players some space n time before picking out the best defence splitting passes. eventhough cesc wasnt as physical as most midfeilders he always put it a good shift, fufilling his share of defensive duties and scoring plenty of goals. cesc was/is a fantastic FOOTBALLER not just a CM, and thats what we need, someone who is just good at playing football in general rather than a specialist in one department… it turns out cesc was also a passing specialist.
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am missing Jack wilshare only
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
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Even when Fabregas was still here, i was really looking forward for ramsey-jack combo. fabregas was just a phase, a former captain, almost a legend. But we all knew he was going just it happened sooner rather than later. as i said earlier, it’s the jack-ramsey combo that we’re anticipating. the british version of xavi-iniesta
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
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It’s really evident that after fab and nasri’s departure arsenal is no longer a football club but the team now looks like a family. something that only arsenal and barca have
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I miss him but we have a consolation in wilshere.
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G0ezte nex fab even better then fab
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Do we miss him in the sense of just missing him for his smile … no. To tell you the truth, im still a little sore he could not give us just a year or two more, so meh … great player and i wish him well but the less heard of him for a while will be good.
In terms of on field performance and transfer dealings … he has not been replaced and he seemingly will not be. Our midfield is woefully depleted with the loss of nasri and cesc (plus jack) we lack creativity, flair and danger from the middle, whats more we are losing the midfield battles more this year; which means we lose more games (although we are starting to click now)
Plus, even though arteta, mert and benny were decent signings; these sort of signings should have been made whilst we had cesc and co to supplement the squad … ok we could not afford the wages in that case, but the new transfers are not of the quality of what we lost … and we are weaker for it.
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one other thing is the loss of cesc may have had it’s negative effects on the team,supporters n playing style but it’s also an oppertunity to do something even better than playing cesc in CM. i mean we all know cesc was fantastic and that if one or two things went our way while he was around we wud have won some trophies. but the fact is that we havent won anything while cesc was running the midfeild,and why does our main man have to be in midfeild, infact why do we have to have ONE main man. our main man can be a striker like RVP, a CB like vermalen… why not a CDM like alex song, we got him when he was young and he has developed with the team over the past 5 yrs. but i do admit that we lack a creative and accurate force in midfeild.
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Watching a great replacement for him now in the Basle MU game. Shaqiri looks great. A mixture of Fab and Arshavin, absolutely electric!
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I understand why he had the urge to leave. I mean, who wouldn’t want to play in your home country?
He said it would be his Destiny to play for Barca, because that’s where he started.
He is still a huge gunners fan!
He has been advising RVP to stay at Arsenal, as it’s not his “destiny” to play for AC Milan…
I’m sorry, I don’t have one bad thing to say about Cesc, and neither would he have anything bad to say about Arsenal!
Besides, why are we focusing so much on him? Let’s look ahead folks… WE HAVE A BRIGHT FUTURE!!!
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Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Out of tune?. Like or Dislike:
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cesc who? sorry can’t remember him much or doing much. we better off rather then accommodate him.
Nasri u effin twat what happened to success, suck on europa lg.
LMAO
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
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Oops both manc clubs out.
Top Gooner!. Agree or not?:
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Altogether now.
Manchester gets shagged tonight… MANCHESTER GETS SHAGGED TONIGHT.
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WHERES THAT MANCCITY FAN– MANC CITY RULES EUROPA LG. UUUUUUUUUUUUU TWAT
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WWELCOME TO MANCHESTER!!!…..English Media can’t help them. Let’s see who they support now. They bashed Arsenal and Chelsea all year. What a shame. They can move over to Europa League.
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Channel 5 for Scum Utd & Man Shitty!!! FAIL!!!
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Well at least we’re still on ITV and Skysports for CL unlike some teams,who are relegated to Channel 5
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omg the biggest upset after i started watching soccer.always it was inevitable in some way or the other that united “get things right”,but not this time.
a quote
” To be fair to Man U…. They have raised the bar again, the first PL Champions to appear on ITV4 of a Thursday.”
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I miss Cesc. Pure class on the ball and his vision was unparalleled. He played the game how it should be played, that’s why he fit in at Barca so seamlessly and why he was so important to us.
Also, him and Theo started a great combination up last year and I’d hoped it would continue. Oh well
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So mr Nasri and mr clichy, what do you have to say about that? You complete morons!!!
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Man u out yes all the stick that us arsenal fans got i 8 2 be a pIn but look at arsenal now ask alec fergie if he would have ratheall the cristosm we took earloer thos season and thier squad is meant to be better that ours whatever let keep moving up gunners
r been in our postion last night he would have bit w
enger hand off
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i think we are better as a team now without fab…..even though he is top quality and he did good service to us…
we are improving all the time,and not too reliant on 1 person alone…..
we got some very good youngsters the ox who is an exciting player and will be a 1st team regular defo by next season…
frimpong is coming along brilliantly…..
conculin and miguel are doing good also…
we got good experienced players aswell…
we need couple more players and we be fine….
better etrength in depth than previos seasons….
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@S.H – always a pleasure reading your posts. u r brilliant mate.
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We don’t really miss Cesc, the one we will miss is Robin. I really believe Wenger needs to make big signings in January to keep him.
Go and watch the post-match interview Robin had after the Udinese second leg win. There are numerous suggestions that he wants Wenger to spend.
When talking about what was at stake in that game he said: “we need a bit of money to buy some new players.”
and he also said: “we’ve got a bit of money now, cesc left, samir left and we’re in the Champions league, so we have spare money and hopefully we spend it good”
did anybody else pick up on this or is it just me? Seems pretty clear what needs to be done if we wish to keep him, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the same issue with theo…
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Don’t miss Fab don’t miss Nasri nor do i miss Clichy all will be replaced in time,i do miss the ICEMAN DENNIS BERGKAMP A PROPER LEGEND OF ARSENAL!
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Looks like both Manchester clubs will have a ‘Spursday’ after Wednesday =)
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Yes we miss cesc as a player but not as a captain.. Even today when Arteta/Ramsey miss someone’s run or their through ball is blocked, I remember of Cesc and what he would have done in that situation… But good part is we don’t rely on one player for all the assists.
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miss what? shall we always remain captive of past tense. between Viera and Fabrigas who can you say was the frontal path of the missing business, i think you are creating a fuss where there is none. soon, the likes of arteta will force you to eatyour own word. stay calm bro
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hahaha today is an awesome day and month for gunner fan,again like i’ve said we dnt even missed clichy and nasri. santos even better than clichy,gervinho wud b even better cus he is even direct.what we ol do missed is that creativity.that one that we need. please goetze or shaqiri or ericson.anyone that wil suits us.yes we wil hv young jackie wilshere back.it wont hurt to hv atleadt one creative playmaker.ramsey is more likely as a centre midfield role.we dnt hv a cretive attacking one. we hv much dfensive n centre midfield.we rly lack of an attacking mid.benayoun is good as a winger,rosicky is more prefered with arteta cus they cmbine well with their one touch passing,ramsey unimpresive yet and stil cn improve a lot.when wilshere n arteta teach him some lesson. we definetly need a left back.not jst a left back,someone that cn play such as tv5 centre defrence too and as a left back too.baines r vertonghen, stil prefered vertonghen since squid wud b out.djourou not consistent.gibbs way too much injury.if we gt vertonghen he cn even play at the centre role when one of the centre need rest. koscielny,tv5,mert,vertonghen – our centre back, sagna,jenkinson- right back. santos,gibbs-left back. djourou jst a backup for anyone. so one for this january fir dfence- vertonghen.
for midfield we jst need one creative playmaker.love to see both dortmund and lille out.bt i dnt think we need hazard more,this is the chance for wenger to gt young goetze.and also on striker to replace both bendtner n chamakh- podolski or anyone.
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sory with the long comment,i shud mke a space there,bt i jst missed that one up ;p
okay back to the story,im reallaaay happy today to knw that two manchester club being knocked out despite being favourites. so left with two english club arsenal and chelsea.what if chelsea lose ystrday n we’re the only one?that would amaze evryone.bt stil i’m rly happy.wish cashru n clichy hapy to b in europa league same goes to the club that thrash us.one match ddnt dcide evrythng.that shows it.hpe we go for it.cus this reminds me of 2006 season.our captain is thiery henry.and i knw robin wil lead us frm here.take it game by game.we cn ofer goetze champs league.they been knocked out of both cup.we show it to europe we’re one of the best with barca.not manu,manshity or spudsy or even liverfool.hope we gt a good dram for the last 16.we cn hv luck to go to the final n against the like of barca or madrid.i dream of ystrday arsenal goes to the final against barca.1-1 full time.wilshere goal for arsenal,barca fabregas score.bt in the scond half of xtra time arteta freekick reach robin with a stunner bicycle kick and were fans going crazy.haha crazy dream.hope so! ;D
wenger three signings in january;
prefered; dfence; centre,leftback,dfensive midfield- vertonghen.
creative playmaker midfield; goetze or erikson.shaqiri unlikely since basel r goin thru.
striker; podolski?? soldado??
clearout; almunia,fabianski,squid,denilson,arshavin,bendtner,chamakh. cn anyone tell wenger this??
COYG!! Hapyy gooner!
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No, I don’t miss him…hve to agree w Adam said above…our team is more united now as a one family…it’s not cesc-oriented anymore…the most diference is the team have a more spirit as a team…do evrything…all for one and one for all…that’s why I love Arsenal so much…n yes RVP is a true leader not just a captain…btw how is Manchester today ? LOL…Up Gunners…
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While it’s good to laugh at the mancs demise, especially the city twat we had here, please dont forget that this will reduce the EPL’s coificient and we may well only get 3 places in champs league instead of 4 so we will be aiming top 3 not top 4 !
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Well, Fabregas is good but not god. I think wilshere will share better skills than Fab. Can’t wait to see him return.
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me as a gunner will always Love Cesc I would love him to come back home. but lets face it hes better at barca and He looks better in a barca shirt. Good Luck cesc
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Cesc’s last season showed just what type of player he really is. ‘Injuries’ lmao, as soon as he joined Barca all of a sudden he was fit to play. He refused to even train with the Arsenal first team in his last days. What type of person does that? A loyal Arsenal player till the end? Hell no. He will never be an Arsenal legend in my book. Good riddance, I used to like him, but he became a whining little Spaniard like the rest of them. If he was such a great player and captain, how come we never won anything with him at the helm? We looked like a bunch of pansies with him and Nasri in the team. No balls or fight.
There is just something about our current lineup and formation that is working. RvP is scoring like a beast. He never did so with Fab and Nasri around. Also there is more team unity.
So no, we don’t miss Fabregas. Him leaving was a blessing in disguise as Arsenal were taken out of a comfort zone and put them in a position where they actually had to fight to win. And they are still playing beautiful football.
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Looking forward to d days wen a 16 yrs old little archie will play alongside his 35 yrs ‘afc legend’ dad.
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EPL table
Man C
Man U
Spurs
——> Europa League
Chelsea
Arsenal
——> Champs League
Ironic..
But if I turn it upside down.. now that makes sense coz we’ll be #1!
Gunners 4eva!
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“We’re very sorry for our supporters and I’m sorry for our players,” City manager Roberto Mancini said. “I think we need to improve as a team because we got a tough group this year.”
Joke of the year-
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@Big Gun
Perfectly said!
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I missed him in d early stages of this season .i forgot him when our team started 2 gel and will wipe him competely off my memory when wilshere returns.
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@overmarsfan : got ur point, dude…good to have it…LOL
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whilst it was sad to see fab leave I’m glad he did because it forced AFC to move forward in a way that we wouldn’t had he remained. I hope Wenger, Gazidas, Kronke and co learn from the mistakes of the past 2 seasons and keep freshening the team so we can continue to move in the right direction. I am happy with the investments made in the teams future (Frimpong, Coquelin, Wilshire etc) but we must keep investing like this to remain on top.
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Fabrigas d fabigator! bt we av Robin dat can score wit d speed of light, nd Vermalen, nw thats a name d oppossition hates, nt only does he prevents goals, he scores too. arteta Guevenho Walcot, Ramsay even frimpong. Arsenal never really misses anyone, nt for long in any case! We are d Gooners nd we dnt look back!
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Guys, there’s something wrong with my sat nav… It can’t find Manchester in Europe.
But seriously, congratulations Mr. Nasri for transferring to man shitty for “promised champions league football” hahaha
GOONER 4 LIFE!
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@Gunner12 – Thanks mate, always a pleasure to contribute
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