標題: Cesc Fabregas already an Arsenal great [打印本頁] 作者: DouJ85 時間: 2007-10-30 10:27 AM 標題: Cesc Fabregas already an Arsenal great
Cesc Fabregas already an Arsenal great
I watched Arsenal's draw with Liverpool on Sunday on television in South Africa, where I'm on holiday. And even from this distance I could see how Cesc ran the game. I noticed at the final whistle that the cameras went straight to Steven Gerrard and Cesc, and there they were both moving towards each other: the handshake and the back-slap said an enormous amount. You could see the respect there was for each other. Cesc obviously admires Gerrard, and it became clear that the feeling was mutual.
The thing that impressed me most was the way Cesc continued to make things happen the longer the game went on; even if he was in a corner, he'd be demanding the ball from others. Even before the ball arrived at his feet he'd be looking where he was going to go, looking for the next pass, the next move.
I enjoyed the way Arsenal kept playing their football, getting that tightness back into their play, the pass and move, move and pass. And the conductor was Cesc Fabregas. You could see the disappointment when Eboue should have scored, but it didn't put Cesc off his stride and he continued to push the team on, and eventually he came up with the equaliser. It was an amazing ball from Alexander Hleb, and by taking it early Cesc caught Pepe Reina off balance.
It reminded me of what Arsene Wenger said three years ago when I was just finishing my time as goalkeeping coach with Arsenal. He told me: "I have seen the best 17-year-old player I've ever seen." Well, it was an extraordinary statement for Arsene to make. I remember saying: "But wasn't Pele the best 17-year-old?" "I am telling you about a player who plays in a different role to Pele; Pele was a striker, not a creator."
That young man was Cesc Fabregas, who had already arrived at Arsenal by then.
In those days Cesc lacked certain things – pace for one thing – but his short and long passing was exceptional. And the combativeness, that little bit of temper, that makes him like Patrick Vieira, was there from the start. He had an imagination, an appreciation of the game, that shocked everyone in such a young boy. What struck me was that he had a terrific humility about his ability: he was never boastful. There was enough in his game even then to make me compare him to the conductor in an orchestra.
Since then he has added what Arsene wanted him to do, and that's strength in the tackle and the ability to strike for goal. An all-round player was something we didn't really have at Arsenal before. But now we've got the midfield anchor, the player in the holding role, in Mathieu Flamini, who's in the mould of Claude Makelele of the present day or Norman Hunter, Nobby Stiles, or former Arsenal man Peter Storey, and that allows Cesc the freedom to go out and play.
I know he's on a long, long contract, but I hope he's never lured away by the likes of Barcelona or Real Madrid, back to his homeland. I know that when he was thinking about a captain to replace Thierry Henry, Arsene went through the names of Gilberto, Kolo Toure and William Gallas, who he eventually settled on. But Cesc was also in the frame, and he will remain in the frame for as long as both he and Arsene are at the club. He has such maturity.
When I look back at the great midfield players I've had the pleasure to watch and play with at Arsenal, I'd pick out George Eastham, Alan Ball – neither of whom we saw at their best at Highbury – Liam Brady, David Rocastle and Michael Thomas as a pair, and Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira – who we did. Cesc continues the line through my five decades-long association with Arsenal.
Now I wouldn't call Dennis Bergkamp a midfield player, and like Cesc he could probably have done with an extra half-yard of pace. But there is a saying in football about the first yard being in the head, and that is what great players like Dennis and Cesc have.
To compile an identikit picture, I'd say Cesc has Dennis's brain, the combativeness and touch of Patrick Vieira, the marauding spirit of Rocastle and Thomas, and the magic wand of Liam Brady's left foot, only in his right boot. I can't praise him enough; he's up there with the best of them.
