🇪🇸 Cesc Fàbregas

[RoyalBlues 4,050]

Fabregas or Matic won't become captain as long as Ivanovic has a starting role in the team.

and Cech or Cahill still around

[The Chels 2,502]

As I said before, cesc or matic should take the armband when Jt retires

First choice is Cesc though.

Mourinho selects the starter who has been at the club the longest to be captain so it won't be either of those two anytime soon.

[The only place to be 11,313]

I know Arsenal fans will roll their eyes but I love watching this guy on the ball. The speed of thought is exceptional, he's like a quarterback in that he cycles through options when he receives the ball and will usually look for a through ball first and if one isn't on then he'll just lay it off and make himself available again.

We're not going to be a one man team, but it's perfectly set-up for this guy to pull all the strings. He has Matic next to him to be the enforcer, as well as being able to play his own through-balls to runners. He has Oscar ahead of him who can make forward runs and again play the odd attacking ball himself, but most importantly provide that bit of bite that Cesc might lack.

Then he has runners either side in Hazard and Schurrle/Willian/Salah as well as full-backs capable of pushing on and defenders who are comfortable on the ball.

Then finally there's Costa who makes attacking runs all day and who is capable of dropping off and playing with his back to goal, allowing runners (including Cesc) to go beyond him into space.

This guy could rack up the assists next year if everything clicks together and I honestly can't wait to see this machine in action.

[Madmax 9,219]

^Agree completely. Feel he'll fit our needs like a glove and elevate us to the next level.

[Polo7 3,496]

As I said before, cesc or matic should take the armband when Jt retires

First choice is Cesc though.

Really? He has only played a few games for us in preseason and suddenly he should be captain. What a load of toss. As good he is I don't think he should be anywhere near the armband.

[5354 204]

The technique and way he passes is very different to Lampard/Ballack/Essien.

Lets hope the team can sucessfully break defensively stubborn teams!

[DH1988 1,348]

What a treat it is to have someone like him pinging passes around from deep. His solo effort for the winning goal today was brilliant.

Exactly this x 1000, it is SO good to see passes being sprayed about, I've wanted an Alonso type passer for so long at Chelsea and now we have it + more in Cesc

Initial worries are that we are relying on him too much at the moment? Just a slight sight that I'm seeing but I'm sure once others kick in it'll work to our benefit, I'm happy for 2-3 players to crowd Cesc.. Right, Eden?! ;-)

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

He's been fantastic next to matic. Not as influential in the 10 which is good news for Oscar and/or willian.

He will be an important player for us this season but I still think Matic will be the most important player we have. Matic allows us to have 5 attackers something we really couldn't do before. He will also pick spots to get forward and can pass it extremely well.

Cesc will be very important judging by how well he's performing in the deep lying position but its matic who allows him the freedom to roam.

[Muzchap 8,966]

Really? He has only played a few games for us in preseason and suddenly he should be captain. What a load of toss. As good he is I don't think he should be anywhere near the armband.

Ok why shouldn't he be?

A Captain is the 'Leader' - the guy with experience, the person that drives the team forward, that leads by example, the person that has the will to be a 'winner' (these are all of the qualities I see in JT - and think Fabregas could have by the end of the season)

It's also preferable to have the Captain in the middle of the park - as they are involved all of the time - rather than defenders, keepers or forwards...

If he continues as he has in Pre-Season - I have no problem with him being Captain when JT steps down.

We need to look past the Arsenal link - and think what's the best for Chelsea moving forward...

[different level 1,056]

Anyone not excited about his signing must have short memory or is a big Arse hater because this guy is one of the best midfielders to ever play in the EPL. I'm not surprised in the least with his performances. It will only get better and better as he adapts to our players and EPL again.

I think that depends on what do you mean by excited. You said it, Cesc is a fantastic player and he could finally solve the problems in our midfield that we've had for years. Everyone should be excited by the prospect of his contribution to the team and most of us can't wait to see how our attacking play evolves under his guidance.

However not everybody can immediately start showing love towards him, talking about future captaincy and putting him down as their favourite player before he has even played in an official match for Chelsea. Some time needs to pass to completely erase the image of him in Arsenal and Barcelona shirts. I admit that is going to be a lot easier if he scores goals like the one yesterday more often

[Polo7 3,496]

Ok why shouldn't he be?

A Captain is the 'Leader' - the guy with experience, the person that drives the team forward, that leads by example, the person that has the will to be a 'winner' (these are all of the qualities I see in JT - and think Fabregas could have by the end of the season)

It's also preferable to have the Captain in the middle of the park - as they are involved all of the time - rather than defenders, keepers or forwards...

If he continues as he has in Pre-Season - I have no problem with him being Captain when JT steps down.

We need to look past the Arsenal link - and think what's the best for Chelsea moving forward...

My point was before he even kicked a ball in a competitive match some guys are saying he should be captain ahead of Ivanovic, Cahill, Cech. Just because he has done well so far the fan boys suddenly think he should be captain. It takes more than experience and "driving" the team forward to be captain. Id prefer a player who has a few years under his belt at the club and actually fought to win some trophies. Luckily Mourinho agrees with me.

[DH1988 1,348]

I just want to see 70 minutes into a league game where we are 2-0 down, him grab the team and drag them back into it - that's a captain.. Until then, he's an ex-gooner

[HD3D 1,038]

The thing that is making me a little bit nervous about this guy is that he was massively criticized in Spain because according to them, he always starts the season fantastically and then drops in his performances completely in mid-season. The Barcelona fans claimed this happened every single season he was there.

I'm really hoping it's not true.

[DH1988 1,348]

I watch La Liga whenever I can, most weeks infact and I can tell you that, my own personal opinion only, that it didn't help that he never really knew where he was playing? If that makes sense. That is the impression I got anyway.

I'm not a huge fan of the way Barca play and he never looked suited, just looked like he was shoe horned into the side alot of the time, he had a faster tempo than the way they played which I can only attribute to the EPL/Arsenal's play.

[Muzchap 8,966]

My point was before he even kicked a ball in a competitive match some guys are saying he should be captain ahead of Ivanovic, Cahill, Cech. Just because he has done well so far the fan boys suddenly think he should be captain. It takes more than experience and "driving" the team forward to be captain. Id prefer a player who has a few years under his belt at the club and actually fought to win some trophies. Luckily Mourinho agrees with me.

Fair enough - I did say after this season he could be in for a shout and if it goes as expected - I would support that.

Whilst JT is around he is the Captain.

I'm not sure about Iva or Cahill as captains and maybe Cech will go? But lets get this season out of the way first

[zolayes 14,489]

I wanted him BECAUSE how he played for Arsenal .. he was always superb for them

[Daniel1980 1,425]

The thing that is making me a little bit nervous about this guy is that he was massively criticized in Spain because according to them, he always starts the season fantastically and then drops in his performances completely in mid-season. The Barcelona fans claimed this happened every single season he was there.

I'm really hoping it's not true.

It's a bit of an exaggeration. This year his form dropped after 15 February - only 1 assist after that. Pretty similar to Eden, actually, who didn't have a non-penalty goal or assist in March-May last season.

Let's take a look at Cesc's performance in the second half of the season at Barcelona.

2011-2012 first half of the season: 5 assists, 8 goals; second half: 3 assists, 1 goal. It's a significant drop in stats, but he wasn't used in many games in the second half of the season, the coach preferring a trusted duo Xavi-Iniesta.

2012-2013 first half of the season: 9 assists, 5 goals; second half: 2 assists, 6 goals.

This is very curious. He was excellent until Christmas and had a huge drop in form in January-March just right after Vilanova left Barcelona because of his cancer and Roura replaced him. When Roura was the coach, Cesc scored just 1 goal in January-March. On 31 March Vilanova got a bit better and returned to coach Barcelona. After that Cesc scored 5 goals and made 2 assists in the remaining games.

2013-2014 first half 9 assists 7 goals; second half 4 assists 1 goal. The thing is, this year Cesc wasn't the only one who had a run of poor form at Barcelona. Iniesta, Xavi were shit a good part of the season, but since they don't score or assist much anyway, it doesn't matter. Out of all Barcelona midfielders only Cesc was supposed to score and assist a lot, according to Barcelona fans, and only he got criticized when he didn't. Actually, massive criticism and booing might have contributed to his poor form too. Frankly, in the last couple of months, he played like he didn't give a shit anymore.

Also, in the first half of the season, Martino tried to play a more direct football, and most of Cesc's goals and assists came then--he was one of the best Barcelona players then. In the second half, Martino went back to playing tiki-taka, because despite playing well and winning, fans and some players were unhappy there wasn't enough possession. It didn't help that in the second half of the season, when important matches started, Barcelona coaches tried to shove as many stars on the pitch as possible and he or/and Iniesta ended up playing on weird positions, and playing Xavi-Iniesta-Fabregas at the same time never worked at Barcelona. When Cesc played with Xavi in the first half of the season, it worked fine. Iniesta-Cesc was used rarely and when it was used, IMO, they didn't look very comfortable playing together, since neither of them was good at being "Xavi" for Barcelona.

All in all, I'm not sure his experience at Barcelona can say something conclusive, since he didn't even have a fixed position and stability to be consistent. At Arsenal he didn't have such big drops in form in the second half--he just had many injuries, but when he was fit, he played well enough in the second half of the season. As for his poor performance against big teams Barcelona fans criticize him for, it's true and he definitely deserves some of the blame, but part of the fault lies with Barcelona's coaches. It's not like he's a choker: At Arsenal he played fine in many big games. Hell, he assisted in the World Cup final and Euro 2012 final. Games don't get bigger than that.

[Nuski 7]

The way to play Barca wasn't the better for Cesc. In addition, he was despised by cules and he was converted into target of the criticism by the press. Xavi and Iniesta are untouchables. The fanatics cules never forgot he signed for Arsenal when he was 16 year old.

[Atlas Lion 1,223]

Think a main reason is that Barca are blessed with midfielders of his attributes and him leaving over Rakatic (a player of similar ability) isn't a real loss for them. In regards to us, we haven't had a player of his ability and distribution from deep since Makelele and Tiago.

[Daniel1980 1,425]

Arsenal fans at Arsenal Mania when someone posted a gif of Cesc's goal:

wow. Costa and Fabregas looks immense... what a team!

Wenger set up for another butt thrusting by mou.
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Özil could never do that. Its really really a shame that we went with Özil instead of Cesc.
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Yh well Cesc plays for Chelsea now, move on ffs.
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omfg. I'm not saying anything.

FFFSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
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Another player that has and will benefit from leaving wengers losing mentality.

Legend.
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Oh no, Cesc scored a decent goal vs a team I've never heard of in a friendly

Who cares? Fabregas is a top player and will do good things for Chelsea most weeks. Get over it. If we had **** players and played **** football maybe I'd care about Chelseas players.
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wish we had sold Cazorla and got Cesc back though tbh.

I would have even sold both Arteta and Flamini. Just to Bring back Fabregas
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We should have been going into this season with Fabregas in our squad.

They loved him to a ridiculous degree, and now seem to be torn between "Cunt!" and "It's not really his fault, I wish he still played for us." I'm really looking forward to our game at Emirates. Curious how they greet him. Better get earplugs, though.