From Tim : El Capitan
Everton v Arsenal was a tight tense game for me because Goodison is always a difficult place to go. This time round though I was more intent on watching Fabregas and how he was going to play. He hasn’t played well in his last few games, but at Wolves he was itching to be sent off and he almost was.
I’ve seen him play so many times but never this recklessly before . What is on his mind and why is he getting frustrated and haranguing referees of late? Does he hope that it will influence their decisions, or does he hope it will make it harder for the team to lose? Does he see this as one of the ways of ensuring results go the teams way? What is it?
At Goodison he was a lot better than at Upton Park, where he was a disaster. You can see he’s still not the Fab of old, but he’s trying, almost as if he’s trying to force his body to do something he know s he can do.
He’s received some very harsh treatment from opposing players in the last 3 games. He’s been edgy, careless with the ball, rash to say the least. He’s always had a temper and an intense desire to win, but this time round there’s something different about him. He was shouting and urging his team mates, rallying them. This isn’t something he usually did in the past, he was more the kind of captain who let his football speak for him. Now he’s approaching referees and getting in their faces, retaliating when he’s tackled roughly, is this something he believes will make him a better captain?
I’m looking forward to the next game to see what happens. Spurs at the Emirates should be a cracker. Van der Vaart and Bale, that should be a battle and a half for the defensive players.
I wonder, how will the fans treat good ol’ Gallas?
From Bob Atlas : Fabregas
I have actually been struck by Fabregas’s work rate this season.
If anything he appears to be overcompensating. His relentless working of the Everton rearguard would have shamed Ian Wright in his pomp. It’s that commitment that led to the tackle on Wednesday. It was an over-commited attempt to block the clearance that took place far too close to the man.
From Tom : Fabregas
Hi Myles,
Reading your recent posts re Fabregas and that tackle this morning. I’m not interested in debating whether it was red or not, although I think there are arguments in both camps. I am interested in his state of mind though.
I don’t know if you read Balague’s article about the transfer saga over the summer (it was in The Times the other day). I’m not an avid reader of his (particularly given his stoking of the Cesc stories over the summer), but he seemed to point out some detail that made sense re the saga over the summer.
His points were that the change at the helm of Barca made a difference and that the new president had reservations about bringing on board a player to fulfil his predecessor’s legacy.
He also says that Barca changed its player acquisition strategy and suggested they’d only pay a lower fee for Cesc. This is not new news, but in the article Balague alleges that Cesc was furious with Barcelona, not Wenger for this, as it broke the deal that Barca’s reps had discussed with him while he was convalescing in Spain.
If he blames Wenger then, despite his bucket-loads of professionalism, I can’t see him being able to sustain the spirit for the fight when we have those frustrating days when he’s the only one that turns up (Newcastle).
Mind you, if he blames Barca and we mount a proper challenge, why would he not stick around? Sunday’s game suggests we might. If we can beat Spurs and Villa and have a reasonable November for once, who knows? The team might start to deliver consistently based on self-belief.
The interesting question is, if this side does challenge this season and achieves something, will he feel like staying?
He is captain, it’s a young side that is improving, it could mean a string of titles. Against that, he has a team it’s hard to get into, but is in his homeland. Would he settle on the bench at a club in a league that only has two real teams against the chance of winning at last here? Or is his mind made up to return to Spain already?
From davidafc : Re Fabregas
How is it Wenger’s fault that Barcelona are £800m in debt and can’t afford Fabregas?
Balague said we were willing to let him go once Rosell took over but he decided not to go for Cesc. Will Barca ever sign Cesc now? Barca can’t afford him and have Afellay, and the superb Thiago so he’s not needed.
From Stefan Zabel: Cesc
Is Fabregas frustrated that he’s still at Arsenal? Calm down. Stop over-thinking it.
From Myles : On reflection, you’re right. Did you think Cesc was patchy today?(At Everton)
From Stefan
Hi Myles,
Thanks for your message. Cesc had an off day, definitely. I think his niggly injury is a big part of that though. This is positive speculation only, but perhaps he wants to show the world that he is still going to give his all, but was frustrated that he’s not 100% and couldn’t influence the game as usual.
He’s seems to be one of the few truly rounded individuals in the Premiership and I honestly rather than wishfully think he’ll do his best and play well for us this season. He knows his career is short and will try 100% every game, and even if he’s leaving us soon, he’ll want to win something before he goes. He’s the captain and that means a lot to him.
Best wishes.
P.S. I know Wenger’s football can be a little one-dimensional to say the least, but as well as your comments on that, I love to hear your thoughts on any (positive) elements of the tactics he’s used, how he’s using the players, how they are linking and so on. I appreciate your frustrations with the current set-up but what we are occasionally doing well from a tactical perspective is really interesting.
From Myles : Well, mainly this : If Alex Song is playing that far forward, it’s because Wenger is happy for him to be playing that far forward. Song is not playing for Manchester City, he’s playing for Arsenal. Football is a game of passing that is all about trying to get two against one, three against two, four against three. At Goodison,Song defended when the team was defending. That’s why I pointed out the shot he blocked with his chest and the Coleman cross he cut out five yards from goal. For me, those were big moments in a close game game that Arsenal were trying to win 2-0.
And I think the team is better when he has Nasri on the right and Arshavin on the left.
From Matt : Fabregas
Hi Myles,
Where to start?
You are a man who can be quite infuriating and I often find myself thinking expletives when I read your column.
But, I have been reading since the beginning and I continue to read. While one paragraph might contain a statement vearing on the side of insulting assumption another will contain an observation that is far more astute than anything 95% of sports journalists currently employed by Fleet Street are capable of making. Such juxtopositions are what makes life intersting.
Now to Fabregas. I am not sure I agree with all of your observations on Cesc. I believe that if Barca had offered 45-50m euros he would be playing for them now. He knows his value and he understands the mechinations of football way, way better than most professional footballers.
I think that he also has a deep respect for Arsene Wenger and as a result I still strongly believe that this season we will see the best of Cesc. He is far too savvy and intelligent to let the dissapointment of his “unfulfilled dream” get in the way of his performance on the pitch. He knows that if he sulks this season then there is no way he will get his dream move next summer.
But I have to admit I was worried by what I saw in the Newcastle game. A captain who has a poor game still needs to cajole and barrack his team mates during a game. In Fabregas’s case there is not one player at the club who ought not respect his talent, attitude and skill enough to be able to respond to his captaincy. Yet so often against Newcastle he was silent or hanging his head low. Very un-Fabregas. Very worrying.
I didn’t see anything more than MOTD highlights of the Wolves game (and what value can one attach to the highlights cobbled together by the MOTD producers and their tedious pundits?) but I would interpret what I saw from Fabregas in that game in a different way from you.
For me the “red card tackle” was a reaffirmation that Newcastle was a blip and that the burning desire is still there.
All players are capable of being a fraction late with a tackle. Who’s to say that, in addition to his frustration at his own recent poor form and his team mates inability to put the game to bed, was another festering anger. The anger of a man livid that once again an opponent was able to fly into a tackle in a ridiculoulsy reckless manner (Henry on Arshavin) and still not be punished appropriately? I can only guess as to what Fabregas has been thinking in recent months but to my mind he would never have bothered chasing all the way to the touchline in the later minutes of a game to make the “tackle” if winning was not at the forefront of his mind. And to those who say it was x-rated …… I won’t even bother to waste my breath. We see far worse every week on MOTD and if you go to enough games you know for sure that plenty of awful tackles never get a mention on MOTD.
When Wenger says he expects to see the best of Cesc very soon, I think he is right and I expect Cesc to produce tomorrow. Throughout his career there is one thing, other than his amazing skill and ability, that makes him stand out above his contempories and that is that he is a fantastic professional. It takes a brave or foolish man to say he will not score a goal or two and lay on a couple of assists in the next two or three games.
Carry on posting. I enjoy nodding my head in agreement one moment and calling you all the names under the sun the next.
Welsh Gooner :Well I never
Good day Myles.
I am shocked to say the least that you concur with the view that Fabregas deserved to be sent off. On most Wednesday nights I play football with a group of old friends and then it’s usually back to mine for some serious post game analysis, last Wednesday we had the treat of a midweek Match of the Day to look forward to. My living room housed an Arsenal fan- me, two Spurs fans a Wigan fan and three Swansea fans. whilst enduring highlights of a rather limp Arsenal display we arrived at the Fab tackle.
As soon as he went in, we all cheered ‘He’s in the book’, of that there was no argument, the Wolves fans reaction though told us that maybe we had missed something, the replay arrived and… no change of mind. We all agreed (which is rare) that it was a bad tackle but no way anything more than that. It seemed the type of tackle that you see week in week out. I am slightly concerned with the vehement hatred that Hansen seems able to spout about Arsenal, even more shocked that Dixon agreed with him. Fabregas apologising I think was a bit lame. Mick said it like it was (as usual) whilst barely disguising a dig at our own Arsene. It feels to me as though our manager’s often admirable crusade is now actually turning around and digging its teeth into our own arse.
From Ahmed : No Essien, no chance
Am I the only person in the world that expected Sunderland to get at least a point against Chelsea?
The second I saw a Chelsea team that started with three right backs and two left backs on the pitch I knew Sunderland would get chances. I was right, £1.50 accumulator with Sunderland at 14/1 won me £40.
Chelsea have no chance of the league without Terry or Essien. If Terry is out against Birmingham I’d suggest to everyone to back Birmingham for at least a draw.
From Alan Fields : Nice to have happy Myles back…if only for a while
Hi Myles,
Great blog today, good to see you in good form after the great weekend that Arsenal had. Are you sick? You don’t seem yourself haha?
I read your blog every day and like others don’t always agree with what you say, but still value your opinion!
This season we have seen flashes of a happier more upbeat Myles about Arsenal, which we haven’t seen for a few seasons now!
Are you starting to see that Wenger’s work over the past few season might actually pay off? And that we have a very good chance of winning the league this year?
I know…don’t count your chickens until they hatch and all that, but you have to admit there is a small buzz going on at Arsenal this season. We seem different?
Keep up the good work.