Premier League - Paper Round: Cesc vital for Arsenal

Eurosport - Wed, 30 Sep 15:03:00 2009

Cesc Fabregas is the key cog in the Arsenal engine, while the queue of clubs chasing Gary Cahill just gets bigger.

FOOTBALL 2009-2010 Premier League Arsenal Cesc Fabregas - 0

Contrasting fortunes in Europe for the English teams on Tuesday and contrasting headlines on the back page of The Sun. "Van's a Greek God" in reference to Robin van Persie's strike in Arsenal's 2-0 win over Olympiacos.

The joy at the Emirates was in stark contrast to the mood in Florence following Liverpool's defeat to Fiorentina. "Rafa so Fiorious" says The Sun, "we've never played worse" says Rafa Benitez.

Van Persie and Andrei Arshavin may have scored the goals, but it was Fabregas that caught the eye of the Star's Brian Woolnough. "Gunners will be goners without Cesc" reads the headline and he says the Spaniard was four players in one on Tuesday: "captain, inspiration, midfield link and second forward." No wonder Arsene Wenger is not interested in spending any money, if he's allowed to play with 14 players!

England may have booked their passage to the World Cup finals, but Fabio Capello is not easing off the gas if The Sun is to be believed. The paper claims the Italian will field a full-strength side in the final qualifiers with Belarus and Ukraine.

We do hope Gary Cahill is not one to believe the hype, as his head could be bulging what with all the transfer talk. We've had Chelsea, Juventus and Milan linked with the Bolton man in recent days and now The Sun claims Manchester United are keeping tabs on the stopper.

It's only September but cup finals are already on Gianfranco Zola's lips. So dire has been West Ham's form, Zola claims Sunday's league clash with Fulham is akin to a cup final.

So how good is Wayne Rooney? Ahead of Manchester United's Champions League clash with Wolfsburg, Sir Alex Ferguson says the forward can challenge for the world player of the year award. "There are some great footballers out there like Kaka, Ronaldo and Messi," the Scot says in the Express. "They're the three best players in the world and Wayne could easily get to that level with the right progress."

You're damned if you win and damned if you lose if your name is Capello. The Italian's success in delivering World Cup qualification has left the FA counting the cost, according to the Express. Only 60,000 tickets have been sold for the qualifier with Belarus in a fortnight, and it's all down to England having already qualified suggests the paper's Andy Dunn.

On Tuesday, the Mirror said Nigel Reo-Coker was on his way to Fulham. Just 24 hours later and the Star claims Arsenal and Tottenham will battle it out for his signature. By Friday it could well be Real Madrid, Barcelona and the Harlem Globetrotters slugging it out for the midfielder.

Carlos Tevez won praise for not celebrating his goal against former club West Ham, but he has revealed to the Daily Mail that following the poor reception he received from Manchester United fans he will be giving it both barrels if he scores against the Red Devils in the future.

Michael Owen has given an interview to the Telegraph's Henry Winter and he says he's the same player he was 10 years ago but feels like he's dropped off the England map.

Eurosport

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  1. u-20: nigeria draws germany
    U-20 ghana draws south­ africa
    africaplays.come

    From Second S, on Sun 4 Oct 11:35AM

  2. Cesc is the brain. Like Xabi Alonso was the brain of­ Liverpool - who is still an ensemble of champions, but­ less a team since his departure.
    The fact that Spain­ won the European Championship almost without them (just­ a few appearances from the bench) is just scaring in­ view of the world cup in South Africa.

    From Giovanni T, on Wed 30 Sep 3:26PM

  3. Cesc is the engine room for our team. Without him­ there's no power. If he goes then Arsenal will­ always finish in 5th. He scores some crackers­ himself.We want him to be another legend like Vieira.­ Stay Cesc and help us win some silverware at­ last.

    Market Rasen Gunner

    From Simon, on Wed 30 Sep 3:10PM
  4. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    fabregas better than rooney???haha ..as if? guess they­ have been putting something in the water down there...?­ rooney is litrally ten times the player,now if you said­ fabregas better than lets say...van persie? well even­ that would be in doubt!..wenger is an incredible­ manager and has performed miricles at arsenal..alas­ even he will struggle with his current options this­ season...

    From stuartxland, on Wed 30 Sep 3:03PM

  5. To be honest, I can see Cesc leaving soon, but in­ Arshavin we have a ready made replacement. Whenever­ Fab was substituted Arshavin would take his spot,­ almost as if it were his. Rupert Van Poopie we cannot­ afford to lose.

    From pumaknees16, on Wed 30 Sep 3:02PM

  6. For me, Cesk is excellent, and RORY is just stupid @#$%­ form Great Britain.

    From kuzmarin, on Wed 30 Sep 2:56PM

  7. @rory...............u such a moron...................if­ fab is a cheat den messi is the greatest cheat in­ football for scoring with a HAND OF God

    From Oladimeji, on Wed 30 Sep 2:52PM
  8. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Fabregas is a spitting cheat! and thats FACT!!

    From RORY, on Wed 30 Sep 2:45PM

  9. Why do some people keep saying that Fabregas will­ leave?.Where did you study psychology so that you can­ tell what someone things by the way he celebrates a­ goal? OK He did not celebrate when he scored against­ Wigan, but did you see how exuberantly he celebrated­ when Van Persie scored against Fulham? and how about­ against Olympiacos? There is not need for Fabregas to­ move to Barcelana and he is wise enough to know that,­ he will play for Arsenal until he is 30 plus so keep­ mum and watch him enjoy his illustrious career at the­ Emirates.

    From Sammy, on Wed 30 Sep 2:40PM

  10. withouth Eduardo, Arsenal wouldnt have scored last­ night
    that is a fact, van persie has wasted a lot of­ opportunities to score, but on the eduardo s assistance­ it would be harder to miss

    From filip_vukoja, on Wed 30 Sep 2:11PM

  11. withouth Eduardo, Arsenal wouldnt have scored last­ night
    that is a fact, van persie has wasted a lot of­ opportunities to score, but on the eduardo s assistance­ it would be harder to miss

    From filip_vukoja, on Wed 30 Sep 2:10PM

  12. Hey, I'm a big fan of Arsenal and FC Barcelona, I­ don't like the Fabregas talk, but sadly, he will­ leave real soon. His demeanor isn't inspiring, even­ when he scores.... I hope AW gets Eden Hazard, and I­ hope Ramsey and Wilshere are ready to take his place­ and not miss a beat. Plus Merida is waiting to be his­ own Fabregas, but i put little faith in him too, as he­ is a Barca product and one day would want to move.

    From Dale, on Wed 30 Sep 1:58PM

  13. Anyone notice that in the absence of Bendtner, we­ played great with Eduardo and Vela on?

    From Dale, on Wed 30 Sep 1:50PM

  14. As a gooner i'd have to say Rooney is better. If­ you are to compare two very different players and what­ they provide for the team? Then the only thing you can­ compare is they're mentality, and Rooney is like a­ young steven Gerrard. Rooney will start to carry games,­ like every game. He will become the messaih of any team­ he plays for, he will be like the zidan of France, the­ Henry of Arsenal, the Gerrard of Pool, the Kaka of AC, ­ from here on until his early thirties. Fabregas has­ different skills and can control games brilliantly, but­ he aint Roy of the rovers, and frankly Roy of the­ Rovers is the dogs of all footballers.

    From Tom, on Wed 30 Sep 1:20PM

  15. well fit sal! corrrr!!!

    From steviec, on Wed 30 Sep 1:14PM

  16. kahwai.tham how can u compare the two!!!! They do­ different jobs on the pitch, both top class in my­ opinion.....Arsenal wer scintillating lst nite going­ forward, passing n movement unbelievable, btr dan barca­ i tink...Arshavin bargain of the century....If only dey­ cud defend but dey cant hahahaha

    From geaniejojo, on Wed 30 Sep 1:07PM

  17. Is fabregas better than Rooney?
    Yes(thumbs up)­
    No(thumbs down)

    From Kah Wai, on Wed 30 Sep 12:31PM

  18. Sally one thing is for certain, that you cannot be­ certain of the point you made...think before you write­ my dear.

    From Tom, on Wed 30 Sep 12:27PM

  19. Lol Sally,good post and with humour,can't ask for­ more than that.
    Being a gunner and loving Fabregas,and­ fearing he may leave for whatever reason is normal,but­ ithen if that was to happen,i know Wenger will find a­ way and we'll have a superb team again.
    We're a­ normal team,full of talent competing with ruthless­ giants and financial tycoons,still,we're here and­ will get trophies.Don't you worry one bit about us

    From coolworld, on Wed 30 Sep 12:16PM

  20. its inevitable that he will leave. true, he is a good­ player but he is not the be all and end all of our­ club. i am worried tho that we dont have a strong­ bench. thru the whole length of the pitch.

    From Stephen Cameron, on Wed 30 Sep 12:09PM
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