As a self confessed huge fan of both Arsenal and Cesc Fabregas it has yet again been a tough summer for me. The speculation linking Cesc to Barcelona just won't go away, and of course it's not being helped by his silence or Barcelona's lack of it. I would dearly love to see Cesc sit in front of the assembled media and tell them he is Arsenal's captain, and he intends to stay at the club and win trophies with them.
In an ideal world that is exactly what would happen, but of course it's far from an ideal world, as the starving people in the horn of Africa will testify to I'm sure. The draw of Cesc's hometown club is absolutely huge for him, and it cannot be easy for him to stay at Arsenal. Arsenal have put a valuation on his head, but it appears that Barcelona think they can get him for much less as he wants to join them and nobody else.
Last summer Cesc played in the World Cup for Spain, and after they won the trophy the speculation about him joining Barcelona reached a peak. I was told by virtually one and all that Cesc would be leaving Arsenal, but I stood firm in my belief that he would say. Some might say it was a misguided belief, but it turned out to be right as Arsene Wenger refused to sell him.
Cesc didn't have his greatest season for Arsenal last season, but in my opinion it was because of the injuries he suffered and the lack of time off during the previous three summers. He had played in tournaments with Spain in each of the last three summers, and the heavy schedule caught up on him which was to Arsenal's determent. I have no doubt that a fully fit and focused Cesc will be the best player in the Premier League next season.
Of course Barcelona manager Per Guardiola is the latest man from that classless club to make his opinions on Cesc's potential transfer public knowledge. He seems to think Barcelona will pursue Cesc right up until the end of the transfer window if necessary, but he also stated that a forward is their first priority. Guardiola is well known to be Cesc's boyhood idol, and I'm sure he must be delighted to hear that Guardiola wants him at the club.
Guardiola also claimed that Cesc would make Barcelona a better team, and that's not an easy task considering that they are already the best team in the world. Can they seriously expect to buy a player who is still only approaching his prime and would improve the best team in the world for a fee of a mere £26 million when players with a lot less to offer have exchanged hands for much larger fees. It's a dangerous game Barcelona are playing, and I can only hope it backfires on them.
Barcelona have to know that they can get their man if they make a bid which matches Arsenal's valuation of the player, but they continue to claim he isn't worth the asking price. I sincerely doubt their desire to sign him at the moment, and I can only hope it damages his relationship with his hometown club. Surely Cesc must see that Barcelona's valuation of him shows that they don't rate him as highly as some of their other supposed targets this summer.
As it stands I believe Cesc will be an Arsenal player in the coming season because I don't think Barcelona will pay what he is truly worth. I hope he can put the whole business behind him, and show them exactly why Arsenal rate him so highly. With a fully fit Cesc in the team Arsenal are capable of putting up a real challenge for the Premier League, and possibly delivering the trophies he craves.
However, the longer the saga drags on the worse it will be for Arsenal, as their team will be far from settled with the new season approaching rapidly. Arsenal have to draw a line under any potential transfer, and tell both Barcelona and Cesc that it's a matter of pay up or any possibility of a move is off. It's not an unreasonable stance for Arsenal to make, and it will at least bring the whole matter to a climax one way or the other.
It would appear that Cesc will stay behind yet again tomorrow when Arsenal take on FC Cologne in their latest pre-season friendly. He missed the two game tour to Asia as he is still recovering from his injury he received last season, and it seems he still has a way to go to catch up with the rest of the squad in terms of fitness. Until he plays his first game for Arsenal this pre-season the rumours will continue to gain pace, and the club need to see him put in a performance for them.
If the transfer rumours are allowed to continue it will be interesting to see if he is played in Arsenal's Champions League qualifying games later in August. If he is to be sold to Barcelona they will surely not want him cup tied, but Arsenal will need their best players available to advance to the group stages. As it stands those games may be the first real pointer to the true intentions of all parties involved in this saga, and they could bring it all to a very sudden end.
That's it for today.
See You Tomorrow.
Finally for today this season's Fantasy Premier League is up and running again. My league has almost 100 teams in it already, but I will welcome any new teams. Just go to the site and use the code 125540-42785 to join my league when your team is set up.
If you have any problems don't hesitate to contact me, and I will do what I can to help. Any teams in the league last season should automatically be included this season, as soon as they set up heir team. Good luck if you're taking part, and remember I will have prizes for the top three finishers at the end of the season.
Don't forget you can follow me on Twitter, tumblr and Facebook too.
In an ideal world that is exactly what would happen, but of course it's far from an ideal world, as the starving people in the horn of Africa will testify to I'm sure. The draw of Cesc's hometown club is absolutely huge for him, and it cannot be easy for him to stay at Arsenal. Arsenal have put a valuation on his head, but it appears that Barcelona think they can get him for much less as he wants to join them and nobody else.
Last summer Cesc played in the World Cup for Spain, and after they won the trophy the speculation about him joining Barcelona reached a peak. I was told by virtually one and all that Cesc would be leaving Arsenal, but I stood firm in my belief that he would say. Some might say it was a misguided belief, but it turned out to be right as Arsene Wenger refused to sell him.
Cesc didn't have his greatest season for Arsenal last season, but in my opinion it was because of the injuries he suffered and the lack of time off during the previous three summers. He had played in tournaments with Spain in each of the last three summers, and the heavy schedule caught up on him which was to Arsenal's determent. I have no doubt that a fully fit and focused Cesc will be the best player in the Premier League next season.
Of course Barcelona manager Per Guardiola is the latest man from that classless club to make his opinions on Cesc's potential transfer public knowledge. He seems to think Barcelona will pursue Cesc right up until the end of the transfer window if necessary, but he also stated that a forward is their first priority. Guardiola is well known to be Cesc's boyhood idol, and I'm sure he must be delighted to hear that Guardiola wants him at the club.
Guardiola also claimed that Cesc would make Barcelona a better team, and that's not an easy task considering that they are already the best team in the world. Can they seriously expect to buy a player who is still only approaching his prime and would improve the best team in the world for a fee of a mere £26 million when players with a lot less to offer have exchanged hands for much larger fees. It's a dangerous game Barcelona are playing, and I can only hope it backfires on them.
Barcelona have to know that they can get their man if they make a bid which matches Arsenal's valuation of the player, but they continue to claim he isn't worth the asking price. I sincerely doubt their desire to sign him at the moment, and I can only hope it damages his relationship with his hometown club. Surely Cesc must see that Barcelona's valuation of him shows that they don't rate him as highly as some of their other supposed targets this summer.
As it stands I believe Cesc will be an Arsenal player in the coming season because I don't think Barcelona will pay what he is truly worth. I hope he can put the whole business behind him, and show them exactly why Arsenal rate him so highly. With a fully fit Cesc in the team Arsenal are capable of putting up a real challenge for the Premier League, and possibly delivering the trophies he craves.
However, the longer the saga drags on the worse it will be for Arsenal, as their team will be far from settled with the new season approaching rapidly. Arsenal have to draw a line under any potential transfer, and tell both Barcelona and Cesc that it's a matter of pay up or any possibility of a move is off. It's not an unreasonable stance for Arsenal to make, and it will at least bring the whole matter to a climax one way or the other.
It would appear that Cesc will stay behind yet again tomorrow when Arsenal take on FC Cologne in their latest pre-season friendly. He missed the two game tour to Asia as he is still recovering from his injury he received last season, and it seems he still has a way to go to catch up with the rest of the squad in terms of fitness. Until he plays his first game for Arsenal this pre-season the rumours will continue to gain pace, and the club need to see him put in a performance for them.
If the transfer rumours are allowed to continue it will be interesting to see if he is played in Arsenal's Champions League qualifying games later in August. If he is to be sold to Barcelona they will surely not want him cup tied, but Arsenal will need their best players available to advance to the group stages. As it stands those games may be the first real pointer to the true intentions of all parties involved in this saga, and they could bring it all to a very sudden end.
That's it for today.
See You Tomorrow.
Finally for today this season's Fantasy Premier League is up and running again. My league has almost 100 teams in it already, but I will welcome any new teams. Just go to the site and use the code 125540-42785 to join my league when your team is set up.
If you have any problems don't hesitate to contact me, and I will do what I can to help. Any teams in the league last season should automatically be included this season, as soon as they set up heir team. Good luck if you're taking part, and remember I will have prizes for the top three finishers at the end of the season.
Don't forget you can follow me on Twitter, tumblr and Facebook too.
No comments:
Post a Comment