According to a teddy bear with Bell\’s palsy* Cesc Fabregas is staying, wtites Nigel Bidmead.
Piers Morgan bumped into Fabregas at a fashion show and asked him three times if he was leaving. And three times our playmaker told him he was going nowhere.
But, as we know, a week, let alone six months, is a long time in football.
What would Arsenal do without Fabregas and, more to the point, how would they play?
Assuming Wenger retains Andrei Arshavin he might consider playing a 4-3-1-2 formation.
It is nothing new but more popular in Italy’s Serie A than the Premier League.
It is a system where with thoughtful movement off the ball the withdrawn striker invariably finds space in the channel of uncertainty between the midfield and last third.
In recent weeks this observer has seen Javier Pastore (Palermo), Marek Hamsik (Napoli) and Wesley Sneijder (Inter Milan) all excel in this role.
And it would suit the little Russian.
His awareness, dribbling passing and shooting are largely wasted out wide and he is no centre forward.
In the longer term (thanks to Ryan Shawcross) Aaron Ramsey may be even better suited to the role.
The three midfielders have to work hard and shuttle across the pitch to cover the lack of width a midfield four or a front three give.
That would mean adding to the midfield platoon.
Felipe Melo of Juventus and Udinese\’s Gokhan Inler both fit the bill and Wenger is a known admirer of both.
And it would once release the full backs to go forward and provide attacking width.
That would help Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna rediscover the form they showed a couple of seasons ago.
And it is a system that encourages short passing with a natural triangle up top.
Mind you, it matters little what formation Wenger deploys if he insists on playing the Spanish waiter in goal.
*With eternal thanks to the Guardian’s Charlie Brooker.