Cesc Fàbregas

[Special Juan 27,542]

Oh he's good the lad.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

Is it smart to compare today Cesc with one from 3/4 years ago? I mean, Torres was good few years ago too, but that didnt mean he would be good for us too.

I think Cesc is now different player, he isnt as fast and mobile, neither motivated like he was in Arsenal.

I think he will be good here, but lets see how he does first.

[Liquidator 5,176]

Arsenal have taken down the Cesc Fabregas tribute outside the Emirates stadium haha

[Barbara 15,149]

Is it smart to compare today Cesc with one from 3/4 years ago? I mean, Torres was good few years ago too, but that didnt mean he would be good for us too.

I think Cesc is now different player, he isnt as fast and mobile, neither motivated like he was in Arsenal.

I think he will be good here, but lets see how he does first.

Torres had injuries that affected him physically and mentally.

The only real injury Cesc suffered was on his pride when it became crystal clear he didn't have what people call the Barça DNA. But that's not exactly a loss if you ask me.

He's in his prime years, if anything he should be better than he was when he left Arsenal if you think when players usually reach their peak.

Also, we're talking about vision and touch. Those things - like class - are permanent and only improved with experience. Torres' game relied on something completely different - pace, runs, positioning and those things rely a lot on physicality and confidence. The moment he had a difficult physical issue, it affected his confidence and he was never again the player he used to be. Easily predictable imo and completely different from Cesc.

[manpe 10,861]

I mean, Torres was good few years ago too, but that didnt mean he would be good for us too.

Ffs... are we gonna play that card every time now a good player signs? Torres is a frickin anomaly, none of our flops have been this severe and there won't be any like this for a long time. It squeezes my tits that Torres gets mentioned one way or another EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I guess I share the blame since my every post includes him too (the avatar).

[Special Juan 27,542]

Is it smart to compare today Cesc with one from 3/4 years ago? I mean, Torres was good few years ago too, but that didnt mean he would be good for us too.

I think Cesc is now different player, he isnt as fast and mobile, neither motivated like he was in Arsenal.

I think he will be good here, but lets see how he does first.

He was never fast, there seems a notion he was around here. The only place where Cesc is fast is his thought and vision and it stops there. I am not sure how you come to the conclusion that he isn't motivated. His lack of trophies at Arsenal leave him with unfinished business in the PL and we are offering him a whole new challenge, working under the best manager in the world and a club with huge ambition unlike Arsenal who settled for fourth and off they went on their holidays.

[LAB 1,030]

Fab + Schurrle could be a lot of fun.

[Daniel1980 1,425]

Through balls hey?

So does that means Torres will be a beast again?

Well, Torres clearly thinks so: “I wish he could have joined us at Chelsea a couple of years earlier. He is a blessing for strikers; always looking to find that final, key pass. He's the type of player Chelsea don't have.”

So obviously we can expect 30+ goals from Torres next season.

[Muzchap 8,966]

Well, Torres clearly thinks so: “I wish he could have joined us at Chelsea a couple of years earlier. He is a blessing for strikers; always looking to find that final, key pass. He's the type of player Chelsea don't have.”

So obviously we can expect 30+ goals from Torres next season.

Lol if it happens I have about 30 hats I need to eat... Thankfully there are universal laws of physics - so I'm hedging my bets again with them

[Sidzeret 2,257]

Arsenal have taken down the Cesc Fabregas tribute outside the Emirates stadium haha

Bet they barbecued it.

[remains of the day 564]

I kinda see where Bluelyon is coming from. This is only my opinion, but out of the players we've signed and are rumored to be after, Cesc is the one I'm worried about for a myriad of reasons. I only skimmed the last few pages, so I'm not sure what has been discussed. But part of the reason why I have doubts over this signing is that Cesc hasn't performed consistently over the course of a season for five years now. He tends to start the season brilliantly but then dips drastically around Christmas and it's a pattern that's been happening since 2009.

I also worry because his best form for Arsenal, Barcelona and Spain has come when playing further forward, and I don't think this is something that should be easily disregarded. He did play primarily in a deeper position at Arsenal but in his last two seasons there, he had an advanced role. That was when he put in his best performances and because of that Arsenal fans started calling it "the cesc role".

So not only has he not consistently performed well for a duration of a season for five years but he also hasn't consistently played in a deeper position since 2008/2009 when he was 22 years. He's now 27. The formative years of his professional career has basically been spent playing in an advanced position.

And if you look at the years Cesc played deep, Arsenal were incredibly vulnerable in central midfield. Even when he played beside Flamini, who back then was a workhorse and had an incredible engine, Arsenal were still so easily overrun in midfield. And it's a problem that persisted regardless of who was paired beside Cesc - whether it was Gilberto, Flamini, or Denilson - they were still so weak in that area.

I'm not saying that he won't be good for us playing in central midfield, but I worry that it'll come at the expense of balance and solidity and I worry that we'll be replacing one problem with another. But maybe I'm being overly skeptical. An argument can be made that he'll be playing in a much more defensively organized system than he did at Barca and Arsenal. So maybe his limitations won't be as problematic for us as it was at his previous clubs. You only have to look at J.T's performances under AVB and his performances under Mourinho to see how an organized system can compensate for a player's limitations.

.

[Special Juan 27,542]

This signing gets right on the tits of Arsenal fans and guess what?

I fucking love it.

Bounce on the tube to The Emirates singing "We got Cesc Fabregas We got Cesc Fabregas"

Bouncy bouncy bouncy bouncy la la la

[Korea 734]

I kinda see where Bluelyon is coming from. This is only my opinion, but out of the players we've signed and are rumored to be after, Cesc is the one I'm worried about for a myriad of reasons. I only skimmed the last few pages, so I'm not sure what has been discussed. But part of the reason why I have doubts over this signing is that Cesc hasn't performed consistently over the course of a season for five years now. He tends to start the season brilliantly but then dips drastically around Christmas and it's a pattern that's been happening since 2009.

I also worry because his best form for Arsenal, Barcelona and Spain has come when playing further forward, and I don't think this is something that should be easily disregarded. He did play primarily in a deeper position at Arsenal but in his last two seasons there, he had an advanced role. That was when he put in his best performances and because of that Arsenal fans started calling it "the cesc role".

So not only has he not consistently performed well for a duration of a season for five years but he also hasn't consistently played in a deeper position since 2008/2009 when he was 22 years. He's now 27. The formative years of his professional career has basically been spent playing in an advanced position.

And if you look at the years Cesc played deep, Arsenal were incredibly vulnerable in central midfield. Even when he played beside Flamini, who back then was a workhorse and had an incredible engine, Arsenal were still so easily overrun in midfield. And it's a problem that persisted regardless of who was paired beside Cesc - whether it was Gilberto, Flamini, or Denilson - they were still so weak in that area.

I'm not saying that he won't be good for us playing in central midfield, but I worry that it'll come at the expense of balance and solidity and I worry that we'll be replacing one problem with another. But maybe I'm being overly skeptical. An argument can be made that he'll be playing in a much more defensively organized system than he did at Barca and Arsenal. So maybe his limitations won't be as problematic for us as it was at his previous clubs. You only have to look at J.T's performances under AVB and his performances under Mourinho to see how an organized system can compensate for a player's limitations.

.

Your right....

However, with rambo and matic in the midfield, i think defensively we will be alright....

4-3-3-

Matic

rambo-cesc

Willian/oscar-Hazard/schurrle

[Barbara 15,149]

I kinda see where Bluelyon is coming from. This is only my opinion, but out of the players we've signed and are rumored to be after, Cesc is the one I'm worried about for a myriad of reasons. I only skimmed the last few pages, so I'm not sure what has been discussed. But part of the reason why I have doubts over this signing is that Cesc hasn't performed consistently over the course of a season for five years now. He tends to start the season brilliantly but then dips drastically around Christmas and it's a pattern that's been happening since 2009.

I also worry because his best form for Arsenal, Barcelona and Spain has come when playing further forward, and I don't think this is something that should be easily disregarded. He did play primarily in a deeper position at Arsenal but in his last two seasons there, he had an advanced role. That was when he put in his best performances and because of that Arsenal fans started calling it "the cesc role".

So not only has he not consistently performed well for a duration of a season for five years but he also hasn't consistently played in a deeper position since 2008/2009 when he was 22 years. He's now 27. The formative years of his professional career has basically been spent playing in an advanced position.

And if you look at the years Cesc played deep, Arsenal were incredibly vulnerable in central midfield. Even when he played beside Flamini, who back then was a workhorse and had an incredible engine, Arsenal were still so easily overrun in midfield. And it's a problem that persisted regardless of who was paired beside Cesc - whether it was Gilberto, Flamini, or Denilson - they were still so weak in that area.

I'm not saying that he won't be good for us playing in central midfield, but I worry that it'll come at the expense of balance and solidity and I worry that we'll be replacing one problem with another. But maybe I'm being overly skeptical. An argument can be made that he'll be playing in a much more defensively organized system than he did at Barca and Arsenal. So maybe his limitations won't be as problematic for us as it was at his previous clubs. You only have to look at J.T's performances under AVB and his performances under Mourinho to see how an organized system can compensate for a player's limitations.

all those points are more than valid concerns, but I still think Mourinho will make a difference. You can't blame it on Cesc's presence alone - not saying you did it - on why Arsenal's midfield is easily ran by for years. Cesc left and it's still the same story. It's about how Arsene sets up the team. While I respect Pep to an extent, I think he's a one pony trick kind of manager and if he doesn't reinvent himself he's faded to failure. Winning Bundesliga - where he has no top competition to his Bayern - will only save him some face for a while. He needs to change some of his beliefs because the world adapted to his style and many managers gave him an answer that completely outclasses his style. Then after he left Barcelona, the team has been in an endless crises. The key players weren't playing as well as before and Cesc simply doesn't fit their style or even the kind of players they have there.

So Cesc hasn't really worked with a competent manager that can capitalize his strong points and make up for his weaknesses. Pep had the worst year of his managerial career imo when Cesc arrived. Mourinho simply destroyed Pep mentally and that's why he had to stay away from the sport for one year. I think he was licking his wounds. Mourinho as fierce when he was there and it was some sort of mind games war that made both bleed, but Pep to the point he had to step down. Maybe your concerns will turn out into reality, but neither Barcelona and much less Arsenal were as well organized defensively as Chelsea now is. Barcelona was one of the best defensive team once upon a time, but not when Cesc arrived. Cesc is better 'protected' here, also, we didn't have defensive problems last year - we had transition problems, creative problems, incisiveness problems and many others, but mainly related to midfield and attack. I think Cesc comes to help solve those and even if he exposes us a little bit more we could always change the system and the players - like we did - when facing the top dogs. But for most of the opponents we faced - and failed to win - last season, Cesc comes as a breath of fresh air. But definitely more than valid points raised by you, as usual

Now I'm waiting your assessment about Costa

[BlueLyon 9,359]

Your right....

However, with rambo and matic in the midfield, i think defensively we will be alright....

4-3-3-

Matic

rambo-cesc

Willian/oscar-Hazard/schurrle

If Mou will go with 4:3:3 next season with Cesc as AM, I think he must definately bring Pogba/Vidal/...here because all the good things Cesc will bring to midfield, Rambo will destroy it. He was good sometime ago, but this year he is terrible and shoudnt be a starter. Him in current form wont make our midfield good even with Cesc.

[Korea 734]

If Mou will go with 4:3:3 next season with Cesc as AM, I think he must definately bring Pogba/Vidal/...here because all the good things Cesc will bring to midfield, Rambo will destroy it. He was good sometime ago, but this year he is terrible and shoudnt be a starter. Him in current form wont make our midfield good even with Cesc.

Well, it doesnt matter what you or anyone else thinks about Rambo, because Jose loves Rambo and will continue playing Rambo as long as he is not suspended...

In every team sheet, Jose will pick Rambo as his first player all the time.

[Barbara 15,149]

Well, it doesnt matter what you or anyone else thinks about Rambo, because Jose loves Rambo and will continue playing Rambo as long as he is not suspended...

In every team sheet, Jose will pick Rambo as his first player all the time.

I don't think Ramires is that important or appreciated by Mourinho, but yeah I think he'll play quite often, hopefully not always though

[Korea 734]

I don't think Ramires is that important or appreciated by Mourinho, but yeah I think he'll play quite often, hopefully not always though

Ramires is technically inept and a hothead (at times), however, he is what a mourinho player is....

Hard and tough worker, very physical, fast/quick, willing to go all in for Jose without looking back. Jose never said anything bad about ramires while taking shots at most of the players on Chelsea last season.

It's really easy to see that Jose views Ramires very highly. Unless Chelsea gets someone in his mold, I can't see rambo being benched under Jose.

If there is anything world class that applies to rambo, its his stamina and pace. Something, none of the other cms are particularly known for.