Yet another Arsenal player has his mind on the exit door apparently. Amidst all the hype about Real Madrid’s apparent offer for Cesc, what people have missed are his comments that he would happily walk out on us. Gee, thanks for that Fab!
Anyway, it looks like those on this forum who are not sure whether he is good enough (I’m not one of them) may be right that we should be looking for the best offfer.
At the very least however, he should be dropped for the return against Real, (a) because his mind has been destabilised and (b) because the match is not a promotional exercise for players looking to enhance their transfer market value, but rather a time for everybody who loves Arsenal to rally as we attempt to finally land the Champions League trophy which we crave. In fact, sitting out the match may be good for him inasmuch as it will help to keep his feet (and his head) on the ground.
Anyway, here are the comments of another player who’ll be suing us for a divorce in the near future:
“there will be time” says Cesc “to talk about everything else in the future…Real are our rivals and I hope we can beat them, but I can’t deny that they are a great team with some great players…It is something I’ve always had in my head because although I’m happy here it isn’t my country and you always miss your own one…I don’t know what will happen, but if it doesn’t happen next season it will happen in another because I want to play in the Spanish league one day.”
24 Responses to “Et tu, Cesc?”
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March 5th, 2006 at 2:50 pm
I’ve been saying this since day one.
He will want to play in Spain. Why wouldn’t he?
We have a plethora of Cesc lovers here, who fawn over his every game, even when he doesn’t nothing in the match. So folks will say its OK for him to say these things…
Its pretty obvious… he’s Spanish, his style surely suits LaLiga more than the EPL… he’s very talented, and will only get better. He is going to want to play in Spain as he blossoms into a star player. Why would he want to play in England? Weather? Women? Money? NO NO NO!! He can get more money in Spain as well…
I’d sell him for the right amount, if his heart is set on playing in Spain. Economics 101. Buy low, Sell high.
I’d PLAY HIM against Madrid. We need our best team on the pitch to have our best chance to win. Thats what is most important. He’s been flirting with Spain for weeks in the media.
I for one… didn’t expect him to be here for a long time. There’s no reason for him to stay in England.
He can go. “NOBODY IS BIGGER THAN THE CLUB”!
Thats what I hear over and over and over when it comes to the Vieira’s and Henry’s of the world. Well since Cesc can’t carry either of their gym bags right now… it shouldn’t be a big deal if he goes.
March 5th, 2006 at 3:24 pm
Take it easy there. The boy just simply learning to say the right words in front of the media. It happens all the time among the players. Afterall, even if he had said “I will stay at Arsenal AS LONG AS Arsenal wants me” (sounds familiar?!) If one day he decides to leave, he will. If he won’t, he won’t.
Whatever players said doesn’t really mean anything. It’s their performance on the pitch that matters.
March 5th, 2006 at 6:25 pm
Are you expecting Cesce to stay with Arsenal till he is 36 ????? 20 years in Arsenal …
He came here when he was 16 cause he saw more chances to improve and to become a star.
Cesce is Barca-(rais up) so he will no way join Real. If he does he might lose his first line spot. So I doubt he would go there. His comments are simple. An 18 years kids getting all the attention, and from the Giants of his own countries clubs, of course he is thrilled.
If it happens that we receive a multi million offer to Cesce ( that is enough to buy Ballack) then why not. Even BM will sell Ballack …
Pro’s move around for 4 things:
More money, more trophies, more playing time, better place to live.
For Cesce if goes to Spain:
more money, better place to live for him (as his home)
Now he would be worried about trophies and playing time … so its smart if he stays in Arsenal till he is at least 20.
March 5th, 2006 at 6:34 pm
Fabregas came to Arsenal to learn from Wenger. He was promised a first team place and a chance to make it to the World Cup Finals in 06. So far, so good.
Will he ever leave Arsenal and go to Spain? Of course he will.
Will he go this summer? Why should he? The only reason would be for more money. But he doesn’t come across as being driven by such things yet.
He’ll probably be around for another 2-3 years and then he’ll go for a big money transfer and likeliest destination will be back to Barca. Sounds like good business all round. Nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s been the Wenger model for years. Buy young, sell high and keep the hungriest.
March 5th, 2006 at 7:04 pm
I can’t believe that anyone can criticise Fabregas, he’s been our best midfielder this season by a country mile.
So he’s young - what do you want Wenger to do, pump him full of steroids?
If and when he does leave, we’ll bag about ?25m, he’s that good.
If he doesn’t leave for 10 years, lucky Arsenal - this boy has everything, it’s the shower of sh*t around him that’s let him down.
This season he’s just started learning how to tackle, something I doubt he was raised to do in Spain. You forget how young he is; just a spotty teenager.
Anyone who doesn’t see the value of Cesc NOW and the POTENTIAL knows zero, zilch, nada about football - Stag.
March 5th, 2006 at 7:24 pm
Cesc being a Catalan would probably end up in Barcelona before he gets to Real Madrid. I say Arsenal should sell him in one or two years time when his value is still very high. Arsenal stands to make an enormous profit from this transaction - it makes business sense. I don’t think Cesc is destablized by all this talk - in fact it might fire him up to play a blinder against RM on Wednesday.
March 5th, 2006 at 9:42 pm
He’s been our best midfielder… that doesn’t say much really, as our midfield has been woeful.
He’s not going to be around for 10 years… keep dreaming. Why would he stay at Arsenal with Spain calling… especially the biggest of clubs.
That “shower of sh*t” around him… are the same players that went undefeated 2 years ago, and were good enough for 2nd last year. Do the math, he’s part of the reason we aren’t as good. Its not a knock on him, its just fact. He’s not as good.
Will he be great? Maybe.
He’s got lots of potential. He’s very good. He’s outstanding for his age… and SHOULD only get better and blossom into a star player.
SPAIN ideally suits his game. If you don’t see that… then you don’t want to see it.
The value of Cesc now? Not nearly as much as the Arsenal Red Glasses wearing crew thinks.
He didn’t play much against Fulham. How’d that work out? We dominated.
The POTENTIAL of Cesc? Yes… lots of it. Big chance to be a star. I am not foolish. I see the potential, but I realize its far far far more likely that he’ll be playing his prime football years… in SPAIN, not England.
We wouldn’t get close to 25 Million for him now.
He’s already flirting with Spain. Its not a matter of if… its when he will want to go.
March 6th, 2006 at 12:36 am
Baby, you have got to leave that crack alone!
Cesc has not been our best midfielder — We dominated the midfield Saturday without him. In fact, the only time Fulham got any space and made any head way was down the right side when Cesc came in.
I realize that part of his shortcoming — no pun intended - is that he is still only 18. It’s unfortunate that he was shoved into the first team before he was ready, but the fact remains that he is not ready for the EPL.
As for whether he will be great someday, with all due respect, no one can predict that. How many can’t miss prospects have come and gone on various teams without achieving greateness?- Remeber when Butt, Greening and Chadick were the future of ManU? How about Kanu? Cesc may be great some day — but to be great in the EPL he not only has to get better technically, he is going to have to get alot bigger and stronger — maybe he will, maybe he won’t. The only sure thing is that it’s going to be at least 2 years before we know. In the mean time, he is going to continue to be exactly what he has been all year — marginal.
Finally, Cesc’s “value” is relative — it’s the same with all players. Cesc haas value to the team, but if another team is willing to pay more than he is worth to us because of Cesc’s great potential, why not cash in now? It’s no shame to sell good players - even “big” clubs do it. the important thing is to get a good price and put the proceeds to good use. A great example is Juve selling Zidane and using part of the proceeds to pick up Nedved. Of course, we shouldn’t sell him on the cheap, but if Real wants to shell out $30 million for him, I hope we go for it.
March 6th, 2006 at 1:18 am
What is it with the Spaniards? Last season, Reyes shamelessly flirted with Real Madrid before he realised that they weren’t really interested in him and ended up signing a new contract. Now, it’s Fabregas. What does he mean when he says - it’s a source of pride to be associated with Real? Does it mean it’s not a source of pride playing for Arsenal?
I don’t want to say that we should be signing more Britishers, but we really need people committed to the cause, irrespective of their nationality. Not players who are just seeking the next route back home. I don’t mind Fabregas wanting to move back home sometime later in his career. That’s understandable. But for now, he is an Arsenal player and must behave like one.
March 6th, 2006 at 3:54 am
I understand that not all players will stay forever. It’s just the blatant flirting with another club that gets my oar. NOBODY ever does this with Man Utd, why do they think that it’s acceptable at Arsenal?
March 6th, 2006 at 5:27 am
you have this the wrong way round.
Madrid are after him, but the comments have only surfaced during the games between the two teams.
See the quotes from Wenger and then pass judgement.
If he does want to go, after a good world cup with about 5 years left on his contract at AFC he should be worth 20 mill plus.
That should test the nerve of the Arsenal board.
March 6th, 2006 at 5:41 am
If Real (or anybody) offer 20+ million pounds for Fabregas, I am sure Wenger (and Arsenal) should consider selling him.
March 6th, 2006 at 5:42 am
aluht, i think it’s because Man Utd is probably the richest club in the world, and one of the biggest. Their players have no reason going anywhere. And if u look at the case of Rio Ferdinand, I wouldn’t exactly say their players haven’t been flirting with other clubs.
In the case of Cesc, he’s simply RESPONDING to a report that Real is interested in him. If u look carefully on what he said, he’s just leaving the door open (no player would slam the door on a club’s status like Real Madrid and told them he will never join them, and in football u never know what’s going to happen next). By no mean he has said he want to leave.
Arsenal though have a long history, but we are not as big a club as Real Madrid, Man U the likes. For ppl who have become a Gooner within the last decade probably would have got an impression that we are among the biggest. But it’s NOT. The preception is down to AW’s remarkable success with Arsenal in the past 9 years, with a relatively low spending budget comparing to Man U the likes.
Say, if someone is going to offer a top player of us 200,000 GBP per week, we will neve be able to match that. Whereas Man U could, if they really want to.
With the new stadium being built, now we have laid the platform to develop into a truely big club in the world.
March 6th, 2006 at 6:49 am
Everybody eventually goes back to their country of origin at some point in life and so why is Cesc any different….
Fabulous player already - in a few years he will be the best midfielder in the world barring injuries and so it is natural the big fish will all come hunting but by then Arsenal will be at their new stadium able to hold its own in terms of financial muscle….
I feel AW will be bringing in a big midfield player in the summer…
March 6th, 2006 at 7:08 am
Well, if we have any designs on winning the Champions league it would be ludicrous to sell Fabregas.
We could probably find a player more inherently suited to English football but Fabregas is vital in the sense of europeanising our game. Continental teams in the past loved playing against the likes of Arsenal because the likes of Vieira and Parlour were out of their depth playing european football. Their style of play was suited for the hustle and bustle of the EPL, but when they tried to modify their game in europe, Vieira in particular was caught in between two stools; on one hand trying to play against his instincts and play keep-ball with subtle passes, and on the other playing his natural game which european teams thwarted with their cynical tactics, and a certain degree of tactical nous which EPL players do not possess. The result was that Vieira and Parlour, especially away, were next to useless against Europe’s elite.
However Fabregas’s supreme ball control and his love of the passing game means Champions League football is made for him. His abilty to read the game and tactically analyse whether a short or long pass is necessary is unbelievable for his age. He stretches the game at the right times. You’ve either got that or you haven’t and our previous midfield was seriously lacking in the intelligence department in those cat and mouse european games.
It’s a different story in the EPL where I actually think starting Diaby and Gilberto could be the best option away from home- that’s if Gilberto doesn’t play like a plank. Bringing on Fabregas around the 60 minutes mark could then give us the playmaker dimension that would be more effective against a tiring team used to the fiire and brimstone of Diaby and Gilberto. Having said that, it seems criminal leaving someone like Fabregas on the bench for someone as comparitively average as Gilberto.
March 6th, 2006 at 8:07 am
Anyone else want to send a big “no thank you” letter to Real full of anthrax?
All this is designed to unsettle us ahead of our clash. C*nts.
I hope we stuff them and THEIR players start thinking about coming to The Arsenal.
March 6th, 2006 at 8:29 am
If we stuff them and make it to the CL next season, there is no doubt some of their players will be thinking of coming to the Arsenal.
March 6th, 2006 at 8:37 am
Good point about European football. In the next few days, Chelsea and Liverpool could both exit from the CL and Arsenal could make it, leaving us as the only English team in the competition. What a change in fortunes that would be!! Some years back, we were invincible in England, but flops in Europe. Now it’s the reverse. Don’t we need players who can do it at both levels?
March 6th, 2006 at 9:36 am
Agreed. That’s one of the main dilemmas for managers of the top-level english teams; having a team physically strong enough to compete in domestic competition whilst not compromising the technical attributes required to play ball with the Barcelona’s and Milan’s of this world. Wenger realised the “invincible” team was never going to adapt to europe so made the brave decision to change our style with Fabregas. The challenge now is to re-address the balance so that our domestic game remains strong. You’ve hit the nail on the head there.
March 6th, 2006 at 9:51 am
Fickle bunch, aren’t they? Not sure I’d actually want anyone from Madrid these days, to be honest. Would take Beckham, but Baptista can get bent.
March 6th, 2006 at 9:58 am
U r dead right on to the point, scotty!
March 6th, 2006 at 10:58 am
As long as they don’t give us Ronaldo that’s fine by me!
March 6th, 2006 at 11:04 am
The FBI / CIA search engine, looking for key words like “@nthr@x” probably enjoyed reading this post - The Patriot Act. :}~
Your right though, it’s just a fabrication by REAL’s MARCA to stir up some shite and unsettle Cesc and the club.
March 8th, 2006 at 12:51 pm
I can’t see him staying in England much longer. Like others have said, La Liga suits his style better. He isn’t physical enough when needed and has been lucky not to be carded more often for his clumsy challenges when he does choose to be aggressive.
That said, he should play tonight since this is the type of opponent he performs well against and if he really wants to impress Real, he will do well to bag a couple assists to pad his resume (and our transfer fee!).