THREE SEASONS AGO it would have been a struggle for most Arsenal fans to imagine their side without talisman Thierry Henry. Could the same now be said about 20 year-old Cesc Fabregas?
Sunday’s win at Spurs was a great spectacle. Both teams had plenty of chances and plenty of possession. Ultimately the contest was decided by clinical finishing and determination.
It was clear that our side was left physically drained following the International break; a single stray pass from Cesc Fabregas is not something that most fans will be accustomed to, and Gilberto looked sloppy at times in his temporary role at centreback. In the end however, it was Spurs who were made to look below-par.
The home side took the lead early on from a Gareth Bale free-kick which Almunia should have saved. Adebayor smashed a volley at Robinson, Hleb squandered a chance as his shot was blocked by Robinson and Diaby hit the bar after being put through by Hleb. We were moving the ball around well.
In the second half, Spurs had chances to make it 2-0, most notably when Berbatov found himself past Almunia outside the box, only to be tackled by a great challenge from Kolo Toure.
It was no surprise that Cesc Fabregas was involved in all three goals. The first — an excellent delivery for Adebayor to head home from after 60 — shows how much Arsenal have changed as a team in the last 3 years. Back then, scoring headers from set-pieces was unusual to say the least.
The second goal was a screamer from Fabregas as he unleashed a shot from 25 yards on 80. Robinson’s touch did nothing to prevent his strike from crashing home. Minutes later Gael Clichy chested a Berbatov volley off the line.
The third came late on after Denilson missed a one-on-one with Robinson. The ball came out to Fabregas who supplied Adebayor on the edge of the box, where he took a sublime touch and volleyed past Robinson to make it 3. As good a goal as you will see all season.
After five league games, the question is: can Arsenal play without Fabregas? Has he replaced Henry as this team’s irreplaceable man? His vision, his sublime passing and his evident passion and desire will make this man one of the best in the world, if he is not up there already.
He is just 20 years-old but he has already become the centre of the team. Last season the team was built around Thierry Henry. This year it’s built around Cesc Fabregas. The player himself noted that Henry’s departure has allowed the side to function better as a unit.
“Thierry was an important player, but now he’s gone we have to play more as a team. We’re playing more collectively, more as a team, and this is important.
“We lost a lot of points at the beginning of last season and it was too difficult to come back. We have to keep winning.”
He is the driving force behind the attacks. The creative mind behind the though-balls. The supplier of the midfield goals. At this stage, I don’t think there could be anybody to replace him in the heart of our midfield.
And winning seems to be coming naturally to our side this year. With 13 points from a possible 15, Arsenal top the league for the first time since October 2004.
Wednesday night is a chance to transfer our domestic form to a continental stage as the Champions League kicks off with a home game against Sevilla.
i agree with the piece on a whole but i just want to say that i personally think fabregas has beet totally pivotal to our play for 2 seasons now..ever since vieira left the keys were handed over to him as it were…yes henry had a great season with 30+ goals 2 seasons ago but on closer inspection it was fabregas who was pulling all…i mean all the strings…what he added to that last season was a better attacking positional sense which is why he had soooo many chances last season but he missed soo many it was ludicrous…so its only by the laws of probability(& a bit of maturity i guess) that he’s been putting them away this season like he was born to do it because he couldnt possibly miss them forever…credit to him he’s gonna be one of the all time greats no doubt! was a humble kid too with always something wise to say! cesc fabregas..i salute you..
Comment by mo — Monday, September 17, 2007 @ 12:40 am
With Cesc now as the pivotal player in our starting XI i think we can go far in Europe. The reason for this is simple, centre mid is the hardest position to play in. If Cesc can replicate his domestic form to the european games we stand a good chance of going far. European games are far more tactical and are won or lost in midfield
Comment by One_Touch_Genius — Monday, September 17, 2007 @ 12:41 am
Found your link on Arseblog.com. Your site looks great. Four writers is quite a team.
Cesc is ace.
Comment by 433 — Monday, September 17, 2007 @ 3:21 am
I think Fabregas will be very important and a key player for our midfield, however, dont forget about the 2 other players that will be able to step in (should Cesc be injured/suspended/rested) once they have improoved.
Diaby, he might not spot the passes Cesc can, but he can make a turn, loose his marker, dribble past another player and start attacking the defenders with pace making it a 4 v 3 battle.
Denilson, he might actually have the potential to equal Cesc’s passing, however he is a bit more defensive but I dont see him being our Gilberto replacement, I think that responsability will fall to Diarra.
There is also Merida who is meant to be very similar to Cesc and I am not sure what Wenger is planning to do with Vela who apparently set up over 25 goals for his Spanish side (forgot name) last season while on loan, he will get his European passport in January, so he might join us then or for next season at the latest.
Comment by Erik — Monday, September 17, 2007 @ 4:33 am
Great Cescful game. But need to hv a back-up jic any injury, who can be a replacement??
Comment by Richard Goh — Monday, September 17, 2007 @ 6:14 am
uuh totally correct.he is the team’s dynamo.he is just sweet to watch.he treats the ball with total respect and in return it obeys all his instructions in passing, free kicks and touching the back of the net.he is the man of the moment at the Emirates stadium.you’ve to give him that.cheers Faby; move on, we’ve got your back.
Comment by mike kunania — Monday, September 17, 2007 @ 8:37 am
Let’s not tempt fate but at some point we are going to have to play without him if only because playing in league, getting to the finals of the Champions League and Fa Cup would see him plaing 65+ games!. I actually think we could cope without him relatively easily. The first two replacements that come to mind would be Diaby and Denilson. Diaby would bring something different as he plays the Viera way driving forward with the ball he wouldn’t spot the passes Cesc would but he drive us forward with his runs. Denilson would play very similar to Cesc but probably a bit more defensively and would take a few games to step up to the plate. But the players I think who would almost be taylor made would be Hleb and more potently Rosicky, remember they are attacking (Central) midfielders by nature and played there for their previous clubs and as Hleb showed have a preferrence for it. Whilst Cesc is brilliant and almost irreplacable and his loss would change the balance of the team I can see Hleb creating more with his close control and passing and Rosicky scoring more goals with his shooting ability.
Comment by Deez Nutz — Monday, September 17, 2007 @ 1:01 pm
true but none of our replacements can dictate the game cesc can, he literally on his day runs the show top to bottom & u’d have to be a shocking striker to not slot home a few of the chances he’ll put on a plate for you, hleb’s a very very good player infact i cant name too many players with better close control than him in the world..& rosicky is just a mammoth of a player waiting to be unleached…i think once he does he can really be the difference in those big big games where maybe the cesc’s & the vanpersie’s are firing! he’s got star quality alll over him he can def be our new pires with 15-20 goals this season lets just hope he steers clear of injuries
Comment by mo — Monday, September 17, 2007 @ 10:07 pm