- Cesc Fabregas has revealed his reasons behind leaving Arsenal for Barcelona in the summer, saying he had 'given all he could' in the Gunners' ongoing search for silverware.
The 24-year-old made more than 300 appearances for the Gunners, scoring 59 times, after being plucked from the Camp Nou club's youth team by Arsene Wenger in 2003.
But despite being part of the side that won the FA Cup in 2005, the Spaniard was unable to guide the Gunners to more trophy glory.
And after a sixth successive campaign without tasting success, which included a last-gasp loss to Birmingham City in the League Cup final, Fabregas says the time was right to move on and attempt to win honours with his star-studded hometown team.
"I thought it was the right moment. I'd given everything for Arsenal," he says.
"I played with a broken leg, I played when my grandfather died. I gave everything but you reach a moment when you say: 'I can't give any more'.
The former Arsenal skipper is keen to dispel theories that he took "the easy option" by joining a team possessing the talents of Lionel Messi, David Villa, Andres Iniesta and Xavi.
Instead, Fabregas sees it as his toughest challenge yet, to become a permanent fixture in a side that was won the Champions League in two of the past three seasons.
"I think I took the hardest option," he says. "I'm competing with the best central midfielders in the world."
- Lukasz Fabianski thinks he is fine after being taken off against Olympiacos.
Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski does not think he will be out for a long time after picking up a knee injury after a clash with Thomas Vermarlaen.
The Pole conceded the first goal before he was replaced by Vito Mannone in the first half.
“I think I am fine, it’s just a really deep cut,” Fabianski told Arsenal Player. “It was really unlucky but hopefully all the ligaments in my knee should be OK. Hopefully nothing will come out tomorrow or in the next couple of days.
“I can only talk about the time I was on pitch because afterwards I didn’t see anything.
Fabianski also believed that Olympiacos wanted to win the game more than Arsenal as they agonisingly missed out as Marseille scored two late goals against Borussia Dortmund.
“You could see that Olympiacos were really up for it and they were pushing hard. The first goal we conceded was a bit unlucky because it went off our defender.
“We could have maybe come back in a different way but unfortunately we didn’t and that’s how it finished.”
- On-loan Arsenal midfielder Yossi Benayoun has revealed he hopes to make his move from Chelsea permanent.
The 31-year-old moved to Emirates from Stamford Bridge on a season-long loan deal on transfer deadline day last August.
The former Liverpool man has failed to earn a regular place in Arsene Wenger's starting line-up so far, struggling to dislodge the in-form Mikel Arteta and Aaron Ramsey.
After making just five starts to date, Benayoun is keen to force his way into the side and admits he would welcome an extended stay.
"I enjoy every moment in Arsenal but at the moment I can only concentrate on the year loan," he said.
"We will see at the end of the season. Arsenal have the option to take the rest of my contract with Chelsea, which is another two years.
"But it is too early to speak about it. I need to play more and prove myself and maybe have the chance."
Benayoun also stated his belief that the club can finish in the top four.
Arsene Wenger's men have recovered from a poor start to the season to win six of their last seven league games and rise up to fifth.
Victory over Everton on Saturday will take them above Chelsea and into fourth, with the Blues not playing until Monday.
"We are on a good run and are very close to the top four," he added. "This is the main thing after the bad start at the beginning of the season and we believe we can do it.
"We beat Chelsea away - if you beat Chelsea away you can beat any team and we showed our quality.
"We just need to keep working in every game."
- Wolves manager Mick McCarthy has confirmed he intends to bring in Arsenal duo Emmanuel Frimpong and Francis Coquelin on loan in January.
With Arsenal out of the Carling Cup following their defeat to Manchester City last week, Arsene Wenger has few opportunities to blood his youngsters and is reportedly keen for Frimpong to gain Premier League experience away from Emirates Stadium.
McCarthy has been monitoring the progress of the pair, who played in the Gunners' Champions League defeat to Olympiakos on Tuesday, and has confirmed his interest in securing a loan deal, saying: "If it can be done, we'll do it."
Meanwhile, defensive midfielder Coquelin looks set to be heading out on loan after expressing his frustration at a lack of first-team opportunities.
"I thought I had a shot to play so I decided to stay at Arsenal," Coquelin said last month. "I played a lot at first, even big games, but when players came back from injury I just disappeared.
"It is often said that when you are young you have time but I played a whole season at Lorient and now I'm virtually not playing at all.
It's annoying. Given my playing time here, the idea of a departure this winter is in my head for sure."
No comments:
Post a Comment