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Arsenal Should Fear Cesc Fabregas
With the second London derby only days away we have to look at one of the two major obstacles that will face them at Stamford Bridge: Cesc Fabregas. The former Arsenal captain has been in scintillating form this season, creating a total of 20 Premier League chances; which has only been matched by West Ham midfielder Stewart Downing. So what has been the key for the Spaniard this year?
Fabregas has been one of the outstanding players of the Premier League so far this season, how can Arsenal stop him?
Firstly his passing is second to none so far, mixing up quick short passing with some wonderful through balls such as Schurlle assist in the match that saw him re-introduced to the Premier League against Burnley. He has added a cool attacking head to a Chelsea side that sometimes lacked patience in the final third, and his ball retention is second to none.
Arsenal had first refusal on the player and I know it seemed excessive at the start of the season with the attacking talent we had, but for purely sentimental reasons it would have been nice to have him back. Also I don’t think Chelsea would be looking quite as strong without him in the midfield.
Secondly his ability with a dead ball situation is really helping Chelsea to keep on scoring from different parts of the field. They really don’t look like they have a weak spot this year when it comes to attacking because they’re dangerous in open play and from a dead ball anywhere in the oppositions half.
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But most of all it has been it’s link-up with front-man Diego Costa.
They look like they’ve been playing together for years, and I think Costa’s goal tally could have been even higher than it currently is. He has been denied by great saves, crashed shots against the frame of the goal and has been feeding off of everything Cesc Fabregas has thrown his way.
I really don’t think that there is much Arsenal can do to completely thwart these two in their attempts to score this weekend, but it is important to stop Fabregas getting as much time on the ball as he has been allowed so far. This is imperative in stopping a repeat of last years awful 6-0 thumping.
What else can we do to stop former fan favourite Cesc Fabregas coming back to haunt us?