Francesc Fabregas - A Tribute

It will not be long now before Fabregas is unveiled to thousands of supporters in the colours of his hometown club, Barcelona. It's been a move about three years in the making and, after long last, this protracted saga will come to an end.

Affectionately known as "Cesc" and, later, "El Capitan", Fabregas joined Arsenal at the tender age of 15. A deep-lying midfielder with a fantastic range of passing, it took Fabregas only a year to break into Arsenal's first team, becoming Arsenal's youngest ever player in a League Cup game against Rottheram at 16 and 177 days old. He became the clubs youngest ever goalscorer in the same competition, in a game against Wolverhampton.

In the 04/05 season, Fabregas filled in for the injured Vieira and demonstrated his surpreme talent. With further injuries to Edu and Gilberto Silva, Fabregas received more playing time. It was a season to remember for the youngster; appearing 46 times for Arsenal and winning the F.A. Cup against Manchester United. Unfortunately, that one F.A. Cup would be his only major honour as an Arsenal player.


The only way from there was up. Vieira left the club the following season and Fabregas stepped up to fill the void, despite the fans urging the club to sign a replacement. His most notable performance was against Juventus in the Champions League quarter-final. Up against Vieira, Fabregas dominated the midfield. He scored the opening goal and set-up Thierry Henry for the second. With another 50 appearances under his belt, Fabregas was called up to the Spanish national team for the 2006 World Cup. He made four appearances and became Spain's youngest ever representative at a World Cup.


Fabregas took his game to a higher level in the following two seasons. In 06/07, he ended up with 16 assists and in 07/08, he finished with 22 assists and 13 goals. Perhaps his best moment of the this season was his long range effort against AC Milan at the San Siro. With the game still at 0-0 with ten minutes to go, Fabregas had a go from way out and found the bottom corner.


He was a part of the Spain side that won the 2008 European Championships, scoring once, assisting three times and netting the winning penalty in the shoot-out against Italy. He started in the final against Germany and was named in the team of the tournament.

After the debacle with William Gallas in the 08/09 season, Fabregas was named as Arsenal captain. He would unfortunately miss four months of this season, but still managed 15 assists.

The following season proved to be his best. He ended the season with 19 goals and 19 assists. Some of his best moments included setting four goals in a 6-1 win over Blackburn, scoring a brace against Aston Villa after coming on as a sub in a 3-0 win and scoring a penalty at home to Barcelona despite having a fracture in his leg.


Despite Arsenal going trophyless again, Fabregas will remember 2010 very fondly. He was a part of the Spain team that won the 2010 World Cup and he set-up the winning goal in the final against the Netherlands; playing in Andres Iniesta in the dying moments of extra-time.

Cesc's last season with the Gunners was riddled with injuries, but he still ended up with 9 goals and 17 assists. It was another year without success, and the dreaded day where he would join his boyhood club was drawing closer and closer. After a long summer of speculation, he finally got his move.

From a personal viewpoint, I don't care if Fabregas wanted away from the club in the end. He grew up at Arsenal and have us seven terrific years of service. He was the mastermind in this Arsenal team; the one with the ability to create chance after chance. There simply weren't many midfielders who could pick a pass like he could, or could control a match like he could or even score as many goals as he could. To go with his genius, he was passionate and determined. In the end, Fabregas did not get the success he deserved at Arsenal and I can only wish him well in his future endeavours.

Cesc may not be considered to be an Arsenal legend, but he's damn close to being one. How could he not be, after being such a fantastic player for us?

So thanks for everything, Cesc Fabregas.

Captain Cesc I wish you all the best and you will be missed, you were a class during you whole time at Arsenal and I thank you for all your hard work and joy you brought for us.

I just hope you made the right choice, giving up the Captain arm band to go and fight for you spot in Barcelona.

psst, we dnt need tributes right now this is nonsense..we have a season to worry about....we appreciate fabregas's service but the style and manner in which he left this cluab and the destabilizing effect this will have on us will not and cannot be overlooked....

#endrant

i see. Look he may of left us whent he season started which is a bad time, but please let's not forget what he did for us all those other seasons. He wanted Barce, yet stayed because he was committed to us. And he always kept his mouth shut in the media, tried not to destabilize the club. Look at it that way Bloodless.

The Verminator wrote:i see. Look he may of left us whent he season started which is a bad time, but please let's not forget what he did for us all those other seasons. He wanted Barce, yet stayed because he was committed to us. And he always kept his mouth shut in the media, tried not to destabilize the club. Look at it that way Bloodless.

you are right bro, there r two sides to every story and i know he tried his best...but right now as an arsenal fan, i have no time but to worry about arsenal...nxt summer we can do all the tributes for fab tht he deserves for his wonderful years of service to us

bloodless wrote:

The Verminator wrote:i see. Look he may of left us whent he season started which is a bad time, but please let's not forget what he did for us all those other seasons. He wanted Barce, yet stayed because he was committed to us. And he always kept his mouth shut in the media, tried not to destabilize the club. Look at it that way Bloodless.

you are right bro, there r two sides to every story and i know he tried his best...but right now as an arsenal fan, i have no time but to worry about arsenal...nxt summer we can do all the tributes for fab tht he deserves for his wonderful years of service to us

Why should we wait to appreciate Fabregas? Not every bit of discussion right now has to be about our impending doom.

If you've got no time for anything else, why bother posting in this thread?

I don't care if i get negged to hell, i'm not going to pretend i want him to be happy and successful at Barca

Appreciate everything he's done, but frak him

as much i would like to say have a great future.....i can't.....

my wish is that Super_Floren's predict comes true.....and the Arsenal curse happens

GoonerJay29 wrote:

bloodless wrote:

The Verminator wrote:i see. Look he may of left us whent he season started which is a bad time, but please let's not forget what he did for us all those other seasons. He wanted Barce, yet stayed because he was committed to us. And he always kept his mouth shut in the media, tried not to destabilize the club. Look at it that way Bloodless.

you are right bro, there r two sides to every story and i know he tried his best...but right now as an arsenal fan, i have no time but to worry about arsenal...nxt summer we can do all the tributes for fab tht he deserves for his wonderful years of service to us

Why should we wait to appreciate Fabregas? Not every bit of discussion right now has to be about our impending doom.

If you've got no time for anything else, why bother posting in this thread?

impending doom? please, every discussion now has to be about arsenal and the players who have stuck by us! we can't waste another second on this saga, if you choose to go ahead! i only voice my opinion and view on the topic...i can also post wherever i want buddy, no need to get personal

This guy is a LEGEND ad I dotn care what anyone says. He played like a true captain, always gave his best, lead by example, and has the stats to back it up. i dont care of lack of trophies because that wasnt his fault, it was a lack of spending and putting legit talen around him or as last year, injury problems.

Aight no more crying now, lets grow boys. Losing cesc is like losing your favortie toy, its sad, but it in the end, you learn from it and you grow up a little bit.

lets cut it out shall we ?


Blood, Yes its good in a way that cesc is gone But you simply cant forget the last 8 years. You can not forget his time at Arsenal

This is a tribute for a player we all loved when he was at Arsenal. What he did this summer, isnt important. Cesc deserves to be applauded for the last 8 years he gave us.

My tribute shortly

RealGunner wrote:lets cut it out shall we ?


Blood, Yes its good in a way that cesc is gone But you simply cant forget the last 8 years. You can not forget his time at Arsenal

This is a tribute for a player we all loved when he was at Arsenal. What he did this summer, isnt important. Cesc deserves to be applauded for the last 8 years he gave us.

My tribute shortly

RG, as you guys wish too...but I personally don't see the use of this now, when as a club we have to worry now about the moral of our players left, not about tributing someone who just left us after season started looking desperate...

My apologies. I got a bit tetchy there.

Must admit, I got a little teary watching a couple of videos.

Lets not forget that Cesc loves Arsenal and it was our fault for not surrounding him with quality players to win.

Barcelona wining everything did not help us also. I do believe Cesc made a mistake and we might see him back at Arsenal in near future.

Good luck to Cesc and frak Barcelona.

GoonerJay29 wrote:My apologies. I got a bit tetchy there.

Must admit, I got a little teary watching a couple of videos.

I feel you bro, we need to stick together and we need to focus on what we have and who we are! and that is the arsenal..we are the arsenal, yes we are

GoonerJay29 wrote:My apologies. I got a bit tetchy there.

Must admit, I got a little teary watching a couple of videos.

\

Jay bro we all on the same boat here, I could not finish the videos, sad day. We have to keep our head up and look for the future, this year might not be a great year for us, but the future is bright.

If wenger wants to save his job at Arsenal he must buy, there is still time to get the players we need, we have the cash.

Impending doom?

I have been online ever since the news eventually broke out. I have shed my share of tears. I have torn my hair out of losing him, knowing what he has meant to us, how classy he is, how much we will miss him, ... the list is endless.

I decided to post only after I was past my initially gutted feelings.

Bloodless - We all know how you are feeling and I empathize with you.
Jay - Good to see the tribute. Appreciation should not be deferred to the future. This is the moment to respect the legend and thank him. Your tribute is timely.

Is all lost? No.

I have given thought over this, and look forward to my rant/post about why I feel all is not lost. In just about 15-20 minutes.

I wish he'd stay longer, and I certainly don't want Barca to continue having success at the expense of clubs like ours, but I still wish him all the best for the rest of his career. He was here for 8 years, and gave us so much joy during that time.

I'm not really angry at him; I'm disappointed that the club couldn't reward him for all his efforts. I'm disappointed that the Cesc Fabregas/youth project never worked out while he was here. He deserved more during his time here, just as we deserved more, but that's the way it is sometimes. I will always consider him an Arsenal legend.

I still keep his shirt, up there with Tony, Dennis, Robert and Titi. Legends never die Wish him the best

Twoism wrote:I still keep his shirt, up there with Tony, Dennis, Robert and Titi. Legends never die Wish him the best

Good man.
As will I.

We love you for everything you did for us Capitano, you deserve to be where you want. Onto the new era