There Is Life After Cesc

by Jamie Dalton

Ed Note: This is the second in our – we can live without Cesc series. We all love Cesc and feel the team would be better with him – but it will surive without him. No, we’re not arguing for selling them, just arguing that if the club do decided to sell him, we’d be allright with that and without him. – DAG

There is life after Cesc….Trust me.

 I love watching Cesc Fabregas play for Arsenal. The Arsenal faithful have watched him grow from a 16-year old boy with a seriously bad mullet to a 24 year old club captain with a World Cup and European Championship winners medal. But as the summer approaches and the inevitable link to Barcelona starts up again, is this the summer when Cesc should be sold?

With regret…..Yes. And I’ll tell you why.

Patrick Vieria left Arsenal in the summer of 2005 for Juventus. A moment that was mourned by Arsenal fans worldwide, the captain, the talisman who led his side to 3 titles & 4 FA Cups was gone. His future, like Cesc was the talking point of many a tabloid over many different summers and it was the emergence of Fabregas which ultimately led to his sale. Arsenal evolved from this, changing the style, and although there has been no trophy at Arsenal since the right boot of Vieira won the FA Cup, Arsenal have never been too far away from this.

In fact it wasn’t too long before Vieira was back at Higbury with his new Juventus side, fate drawing the clubs together in the 2006 Champions League Quarter-Final.  Arsenal won the tie 2-0 on aggregate. Robert Pires dispossessing Vieira before setting up……Cesc Fabregas. The torch had been passed.

Thierry Henry left Arsenal in the summer of 2007 for Barcelona. Arsenal’s record goalscorer, captain, talisman who was part of the Invincibles and team that so nearly brought London’s first Champions League winning team. There was doom and gloom following his departure, would Arsenal still be a force? If History teaches you nothing, It should teach you that Arsenal are the classic case of “Evolution, Not Revolution”. Emmanuel Adebayor was brought it, and Arsenal evolved again, changing style and impotetus.

The point I’m making is that Vieria and Henry took on some kind of superhero status at Arsenal and it almost got to the stage where Arsenal were far too reliant on them. I can see the start of this happening with Fabregas. The formation has been set solely to suit Fabregas. Samir Nasri and Andrei Arshavin having to be moved out of position to accomadate Cesc. The team has been built around Cesc, understandable but maybe not the right way.

Cesc is also starting to show signs that his fitness is suffering, having made his debut in 2003, Fabregas has amassed over 200 games for Arsenal and nearly 60 for Spain at only 24. His hamstrings have started showings signs of breaking down 2/3 times a season. The pace of the Premier League is starting to take a toll of a guy who hasn’t really had enough rest in the Summers since his breakthrough.

The pace of the Premiership is my final point. Arsenal have always been renowed for their swashbuckling, free-spirited attacking style that has won plaudits from all over the world, Arsenal have suffered this season in games because the “Cesc” formation is far more suited to a team playing in La Liga than The Premier League. Arsenal have become a slow team going forward. Cesc isn’t 100% to blame for this but he is a player who creates pace and space with his mind rather than his legs. The Ramsey/Wilshere partnership vs Man Utd showed what can be done when you attack quickly.

 None of this is a sleight on Fabregas, It has been a joy to watch him – Even now I’m thinking about his goal against Spurs, his long range rocket vs AC Milan and countless other Fabregas moments. When he finally does decide to leave, I shall be as sad as the next Arsenal fan and shall wish him all the luck and success with whatever he does, and he will always be welcome back as a supporter or player. But I shall be looking forward to what we can do in the next incarnation of this side, not looking back at what could have been.

Arsenal will evolve, and we will be alright…..Trust me.

Follow me on Twitter (please) @JamieDalton82

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