Daniel1980

But he looks so good in our shirt.

Kaka even decided not to accept any wages when he was injured at Milan. And he didn't overstay his welcome. Torres should take him as an example.

Their finishing is pretty comparable: last season Mata 65%, Cesc 63%. They both have amazing shot accuracy for midfielders, better than our other AMs--better than even Costa, actually. But yeah, I doubt skills like finishing were crucial for Jose. Cesc is more versatile and flexible, and that's probably what Jose finds lacking in Mata. And physically, he's also taller and bigger, less likely to be out-muscled.

Not saying Mata isn't a great passer. He's very good. His passing and vision was better than our other AMs.' But he isn't as good as Fabregas when it comes to passing. But then again, very few playmakers are. Even Barcelona fans who hated Cesc's guts tended to admit that he was a much more decisive passer than Xaviniesta and that says a lot.

Yes, Fabregas isn't a better dribbler than Mata, but other than that, I mostly agree with Peace. I'm not sure why people even compare Mata and Fabregas. They're both Spanish, they're both playmakers, but their similarities pretty much end there. Fabregas's style relies on different skills than Mata's. Fabregas is an outstanding passer. Mata isn't. There are very few playmakers out there that have better passing skills than Fabregas, actually. In that sense, he's a dying breed of playmakers. Current playmakers rely more on dribbling skills than outstanding passing. Fabregas is the opposite. His ability to pick a through pass is pretty much unrivaled. Even when he played at Arsenal, even when I hated the little shit's guts, his passing made go all Whoa, so ridiculous it is.

But it won't be the same, believe me. Bad last spell(and topping the way Drogba finished his career would be very hard at his age) would taint the great memories. I sympathize AC Milan in Serie A, so I've experienced this several times with Shevchenko's and, to a lesser degree, Kaka's comebacks. Both of them were Milan's legends and gave Milan fans some amazing memories, but their second spells damaged those memories. It's not their fault--they weren't the same players that left the club. It's not rational or logical. It just is.

I'm not sure it's a good thing if a player who doesn't play regularly has a lot of influence in the dressing room. Team leaders must be on the pitch. I would prefer if some of our first team players step up as new leaders.

Mixed feelings, to be honest. On one hand, I'd be happy to see him in our shirt again, but on the other... you can't cross the same river twice and all that. We need to move forward instead of going back. He left at the right time, in the best possible way.

Mate, you need to investigate your favourite player better. Fabregas was far, far more decisive than Isco at Isco's age. Isco's 2012-2013 season you so praise him for is the equivalent of Cesc's 2007-2008 season. Let's see: Isco (20 years old): Europe: 3 goals, 3 assists; League 9 goals and 1 assist; Fabregas (20 years old): Europe: 6 goals, 2 assists; League: 7 goals and 20 assists. Comparing incomparable.

I already gave you one. And he was a lot more influential and creative when he was Isco's age. Compared to that, Isco isn't that special. Don't get me wrong--Isco is a very talented youngster with great potential, but that's it. More importantly, we have too many AMs--so many AMs that a World Cup winner isn't even in our starting XI. We don't need Isco. And we won't get him. I very much doubt Jose is even considering getting another AM.

Who in the world can do the same things? Quite a few players. Pretty sure the lad you have as your favourite player led his team to the quarterfinals in Europe when he wasn't even 21.

Arsenal fan, actually.

What for one guy is a likable face, for another guy is a punchable face. lol I know a bloke who thinks Hazard has the most punchable, arrogant face in the PL.

Languages are very hard for some people and easy for others. I think Oscar's been improving. A bit.

It's too early to say it's a wrong decision. It depends on whether we're getting another young striker. I believe we will. I doubt Jose wants to rely on Torres and Drogba if Costa gets injured or suspended. So let's wait and see. There's a lot of time until the end of the transfer window.

Not necessarily. It just tells us where Wenger would have played him. But of course it doesn't mean that Jose won't play him there. He really might. I'm sure we'll see at least a few games with Cesc as #10, if not more. We'll find out soon enough, I guess. Chelsea TV will probably ask him about his position when they interview him next week.

If it's true, we'd better have a young, talented striker lined up.

I don't get the decision to appoint Allegri. I've always sympathized Milan, so I watched a lot of their games when Allegri was their manager. He's a joke. Poor Juve. His tactics are rigid, inflexible and highly unimaginative. On the other hand, I absolutely can't wait for his genius "Dai! Dai! Dai!" tactic.

Well, there are many versions of the whole Fabregas to Barcelona saga. According to some Arsenal fans, he did sulk a bit(but still did his job, being a professional and a captain). I actually remember how pissed Arsenal fans were when an injured Cesc attended Spanish GP instead of watching Arsenal play the last game of the season like Gerrard did. Some fans started questioning his loyalty to Arsenal, etc. So it's not all black and white. Fabregas isn't the type to publicly sulk and refuse to play if he isn't sold, but his desire to leave for Barcelona was hardly a secret, and Arsenal was forced to sell him for far less money than he was worth because he only wanted to go to Barcelona. Sure, he loved Arsenal, but it was his choice to leave. And I can't imagine him wanting to go back with his tail between his legs when he had other options from top clubs like Chelsea. I know I wouldn't.

Yeah, I'm sure he's still fond of Arsenal, but first and foremost, he's a WC player who wants to win. As a human being, Cesc is far from being a cunt outside the pitch, but imo, his loyalty to Arsenal is a bit questionable after he forced his way out of the club to play for Barca, home club or not. He's 27 years old and he won everything but the champions league and PL. He's a smart lad. And going back is pretty humiliating.

Yes, but he never said he wanted to go to Arsenal. He told what Wenger said to him, but he omitted his own thoughts on this. To be honest, I think he just didn't want Arsenal fans to hate him for his choice, so he worded his statement that way to put most of the blame on Wenger. Fabregas is too proud and ambitious to want to go back. It would be admitting a failure after he forced the move to Barca.

lol Jose is trolling Arsenal, of course, but I don't think he's lying. Actually, Cesc's weird wording in his statement made it pretty obvious. He said, “Arsenal was the first option, for contractual reasons. There was a clause that gave them the right to decide." He never said that Arsenal was his first option, but Arsenal fans chose to interpret it like that.

He's not necessarily lying and is unlikely to mean it literally. He might just mean that we successfully made the most important signings that he asked for at the beginning of the summer. I don't doubt that we'll be selling and buying minor players--and maybe someone pretty big if the price is right. But the major weak areas have been strengthened with WC players, and even if we don't buy anyone else(which I doubt), this transfer market can be declared a success already. Anything else would be a nice bonus.

Maybe we should gamble and bring Pato back to Europe. He'd be very cheap. Sure, he sucks in Brazil, but he's completely unmotivated there and plays like he doesn't give a fuck anymore. He seems to have stopped getting injured so much. If anyone can motivate him again, it's Jose. Sure, it's a gamble, but I don't believe his talent is gone. The lad showed so much promise and always used to step up in big games when he played for Milan. It's honestly mind-boggling he's just 24 years old. Younger than Costa. Pretty sad.

I'm not against Lukaku staying, but I would prefer having on our bench a technical striker that offers something different.