The rain that I woke up to this morning symbolized my feelings having heard the news before bed that Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas was now officially returning to Spain and his boyhood club Barcelona. Even though I knew it was coming, seeing Cesc in a Barcelona uniform only made it worse.
Sure, he thanked Arsene Wenger at the press conference and called him a “second father.” But what he did was abandon his second father at the time when he needed him most. At the time Arsenal are facing the most uphill battle of Wenger’s reign at the North London club. Fabregas has gone off to Spain, leaving Arsenal without a captain, and as a team now in desperate need of a playmaker.
Fabregas created more goal scoring opportunities in the last five seasons than any other player in Europe. That is a fact. Not Xavi, not Andres Iniesta, but Cesc Fabregas. No matter who is brought in to replace him, they will not truly be able to replace him; they will simply be playing in his position. Fabregas was a talismanic captain for the Gunners, leading by example and with emotion. Though he has always had an eye for Barcelona, no one could ever question his effort on the pitch. He did, after all, convert a penalty against Barcelona in the Champion’s League with a broken leg.
Buy Low, Sell High
Though I think the price that Barcelona paid for Fabregas was below market value, it’s not surprising when there were no other clubs in the bidding. Not to mention the fact that everyone knew he wanted to rejoin the Spanish side desperately.
Looking at it financially, Arsenal paid only around £400,000 for Fabregas. In the end, they sold him for what is reported to be around £35 million. That’s a net gain of £34.6 million. Good business on any ledger. However, the potential loss of revenue from missing out on the Champion’s League Group stage because Fabregas wasn’t replace earlier will just about waste all of that net gain. The Europa League is not the financial cash cow that Champion’s League football is.
It must be said that Cesc has had several problems with his hamstrings in recent years, and was unavailable for selection on many occasions. It’s possible that part of finally giving into Barcelona is that Arsene Wenger and Arsenal weren’t sure they could rely on Fabregas’ health long-term. If you recall, it’s the same type of chronic hamstring problem that derailed Michael Owen after such a sparkling start to his career. Owen’s move to one of the two major Spanish football clubs (Real Madrid), only to sit on the bench didn’t help his cause either.
Wait, did I just compare Cesc Fabregas to Michael Owen?
The bigger question is did our captain just rejoin Barcelona to watch his boyhood team from the bench rather than on the television?
The answer: I don’t care. He’s gone now, and it’s time to move on. No more moaning about Barcelona. If we are truly supporters of the club, then we must get behind it when support is needed most. It’s easy to support a club when it’s winning, but we have remember that our number one job as Arsenal supporters is to do that; support the club always. I will spare you the whole “the canon above any player” speech, because we’ve heard it before. But the sentiment needs to be understood. There is no one player larger than our club. In 100 years Arsenal Football Club will still be around when none of these players or any of us are.
Only One Way To Go: FORWARD
That’s enough with the motivational speeches (though we surely need them today). It’s time to look forward. Surely Arsene Wenger has been preparing for Fabregas leaving, despite his press conference on Friday where he said otherwise.
Could we finally see Andrey Arshavin playing a more central attacking role? Playing centrally, Arshavin gained the reputation that caused Mr. Wenger to break the Arsenal transfer (£16.5 million) in January of 2009. Arshavin was a one-man army for Russia during Euro 2008, leading them to the semi-finals. Arshavin has been playing more outside and on the wing during his Arsenal tenure and a move to a more central location would likely help him regain the form that Arsenal fans to desperately wish for him to have.
Aaron Ramsey will need to step up this season. The young Welshman seems fully fit again after recovering from his devastating leg injury and returning last campaign. He will have gained some confidence from his match-winning goal against Manchester United last May. Ramsey’s skill set makes him a fitting replacement for Fabregas position wise. However, no one is going to say at this point in his career that Ramsey is ready to replace Cesc Fabregas. Ramsey must be allowed to grow without comparisons to the now former captain of our club.
Captaining the Ship
Robin Van Persie should, and I expect will, be named the new captain of Arsenal Football Club. Van Persie has stated on many occasions his affinity for Arsenal and Arsene Wenger and has shown leadership on the pitch for the Gunners. RVP has reached veteran status with the club and is entering the prime of his career. I think he would provide good leadership for the club, at least until Jack Wilshere is experienced enough to captain the squad. I’ve often wondered which side Wilshere will captain first, Arsenal or England?
Aside from RVP and Wilshere, Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen has shown signs of leadership and I suspect he will be vice-captain, leading the club onto the pitch when Van Persie is unavailable for selection. It is always a good thing when your first-choice center-back is one of the strongest leaders in your squad (see: Adams, Tony).
I’m writing this, of course, under the assumption that Samir Nasri is all but in Manchester trying on his new blue apparel. Even if he does stay (which is very unlikely) he will not be a leader for this squad. Everyone in the world of football knows of his desire to leave Arsenal. At this point, despite his talent, it would seem many Arsenal fans want him gone as well. I wonder what Van Persie, Wilshere and the other squad members really think about Nasri wanting a transfer. Wouldn’t all of this cause a rift in the dressing room or on the pitch?
You’d like to think they are all professionals, but they are also human.
Calling for Reinforcements
It’s time for Arsene Wenger to spend some cash and add to this squad or Arsenal will be behind the other title contenders from very early in the campaign. Mr. Wenger told the English press that he will not be buying Spanish midfielder Juan Mata from Valencia. Of course, he also said he wouldn’t be selling Cesc Fabregas, so I take that with a grain of salt. I still hold out hope that Arsenal will buy the Spanish playmaker.
Rumors of Brazilian Jadson joining the club are also rampant. Both would be good additions to the squad, with Mata intriguing me the most. My worry with Jadson, who is shorter than Samir Nasri, is if he can withstand the physical nature of the Premier league. Let us not forget, the Gunners are still in need of a central-defender with either Bolton’s Gary Cahill or Everton’s Phil Jagielka (who Mr. Wenger seems to be fond of) the likely targets.
Arsenal will likely have around £50 million made available from the sales of Fabregas and Nasri to add to the squad. If all of that cash is in fact made available (and Mr. Wenger chooses to spend it), it is feasible that Arsenal could buy Jagielka (valued by Everton at £15 million), Jadson (valued by his club at a reported £7 million) and Mata from Valencia (£23 million). That would still leave £5 million for Arsenal to pay any team on earth to take Sebastien Squillaci (obviously not, but I really would like him gone).
If Arsenal buys none of these players, they must buy players who are first-team first-choice players. The constant buying of squad players to supplement what we have isn’t going to cut it anymore. If the squad was good enough and only needed a few squad players, it wouldn’t have finished 4th last campaign. And oh by the way, it just sold its best player and is about to sell another first-team player to a Premier League rival.
Six years is a long time…
In Arsene I trust, I have said and will stand by. But at this moment in his reign, he must buy. I am excited about Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s future. I look forward to watching Ryo Miyaichi. The problem is I have grown weary of always buying players to create our team of tomorrow. I want the team of today. I want trophies.
Part of that burden lies with the current squad of players who are not kids anymore. It’s time for Theo Walcott to emerge as a consistent threat offensively. Arshavin must regain his world-class form. Tomas Rosicky needs to stay healthy and be the player he was purchased to be (finally).
If that can happen, and Arsenal add some quality players before August 31st, trophies are attainable this campaign. It starts with qualifying for the Champion’s League Group stage. Being knocked out by Udinese will severely dampen the confidence of this squad which has already managed to pick up their form at the end of last campaign at the start of this one. Arsenal has won just three competitive matches since losing the Carling Cup Final last February. Three wins in 13 matches. The Gunners also have an inordinate amount of draws during that stretch.
There is no truth to the rumor that Arsenal FC is changing their name to Artist FC, because all they do is draw.
This is not what is expected from Arsenal. No matter what additions are made to the squad, this team needs a victory in the worst way. A win against Udinese and following it up by defeating Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday would help. With one draw already this year, the Gunners need to beat Liverpool and ensure they do not head to Old Trafford on August 28th with two points from two matches in the league.
Today is a sad day for Gooners with Cesc Fabregas leaving, but take heart in knowing that the sky is not yet falling on Arsenal. It may look bad, but it is not all lost. The season is but one game old. After all, it looks like the goalkeeping problem may finally be sorted.
Follow Jimmy Gossard on Twitter @JimmyGossard
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