Arsene Wenger knows a gem when he spots one, and when the opportunity arose to snatch Cesc Fabregas from the ranks of Barcelona in 2003, he didn’t waste a second in doing so.
“At 16, to say no to Barcelona and yes to Arsenal, it was really astonishing. I was very curious to know exactly what type of kid this is to say to Barcelona, ‘You didn’t treat me with enough consideration; I am going,’” – Arsene Wenger.
Hence, I will be looking at the evolution of Fabregas from his first full season at Arsenal in 2005-2006 till his last in 2010/2011 where he became the complete product, churned out by Wenger until finally departing for Barcelona.
2005-2006:
Club captain, Patrick Vieira had just departed for Juventus and young Cesc Fabregas was soon to be handed his first full season as an Arsenal regular at the tender age of 18 years old.
No one, including me, expected much, after all, this was a young unaccomplished teenager ready to fill the boots of an Arsenal legend in Vieira – as Ashley Cole mentioned in his biography, “an unproven featherweight,” Cesc proved all his doubters wrong and it didn’t take long for him to win his plaudits with world class performances, especially against the likes of Juventus and Real Madrid.
Cesc portrayed a maturity which transcended beyond his teen years and he eventually made the midfield spot his own that season, ending the season with interest from Spanish giants Real Madrid – a compliment to any player, especially in their teen years.
Season Achievements: Golden Boy, Bravo Award, UEFA Team of the Year
Tally: 5 goals and 7 assists in 50 games
2006-2007:
After cementing his place in the heart of the midfield, Cesc now underwent his second full season with Arsenal. With the departures of Pires, Cygan, Lauren, Bergkamp, Ashley Cole and Sol Campbell, however, it was more a season of rebuilding the Arsenal team, but Cesc still had a great season nonetheless, with more than double the assists he made in the previous season, cementing his place as one of the most creative youngsters in the league as well as virtually leading a group of Arsenal youngsters to the Carling Cup final, beating the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham en route to the final before losing bravely to a full strength Chelsea.
Though there was nothing to celebrate at the end of the season, Cesc ended it fully settled and familiar with the Premier League.
Tally: 4 goals and 16 assists in 53 games
2007-2008:
This was the season Cesc really developed the attacking side of his game, not to mention, the leadership side as well – with the departure of club legend and captain, Thierry Henry, Cesc knew he was the most important player and the focus of the Arsenal team. While he had finally settled in the Premier League and became one of the most creative players in the league at that, critics hit out at Cesc for not scoring enough goals.
It would be the last time they criticized him – Cesc was lethal scoring 11 goals in his first 16 games of the season forming a quarter of one of the deadliest midfields in the world along with Flamini, Hleb and Rosicky. Cesc’s performances that season earned him a lot of plaudits and easily made Arsenal the best team in the league (though they eventually collapsed after Eduardo’s injury.)
It was a shame Arsenal didn’t win any trophy as they played their best football ever since the Invincibles season however, Arsenal remained unbeaten at home and also became the first English side to defeat AC Milan at the San Siro, courtesy of goals from Cesc himself and Adebayor.
Season Achievements: ESM Team of the Year, PFA Team of the Year, UEFA Team of the Year, PFA Young Player of the Year
Tally: 13 goals and 22 assists in 45 games
2008-2009:
While this wasn’t exactly a season to remember for Cesc due to a long term injury, it was notable as he became captain midway into the season at the age of just 20, after the stripping of captaincy from William Gallas. Even considering this, Cesc still managed to contribute to 18 goals in 33 games from a central midfield position which is quite respectable.
Tally: 3 goals and 15 assists in 33 games
2009-2010:
In my opinion, this was the season Cesc Fabregas truly became world class – Wenger had tweaked the formation to a 4-2-3-1 to utilize Cesc’s ability to the maximum with him playing in the hole, and boy, did it do wonders.
Not only did Arsenal play their best attacking football in recent years but it was Cesc’s most productive season ever at Arsenal with 19 goals and 19 assists – a contribution of 38 goals in 36 games. A season to remember for me because even though we didn’t win a trophy, it was just beautiful football with Cesc scoring in every possible way from penalties, outside the box, free-kicks and tap-ins.
Season Achievements: ESM Team of the Year, PFA Team of the Year
Tally: 19 goals and 19 assists in 36 games
2010-2011:
Heading into this season, Cesc really was the complete midfielder as he returned from South Africa as a World Cup winner – however, his last ever season at Arsenal was to be disrupted by recurring hamstring injuries and he couldn’t even end it with a trophy as Cesc missed out on the Carling Cup final through an injury suffered against Stoke City.
Who knows what would have happened had he made the final? Arsenal’s Carling Cup loss resulted in a collapse which, in a domino effect, knocked Arsenal out of every competition but what if they had won it?
Cesc’s last ever game turned out to be the 2-1 loss to Bolton which all but effectively ended Arsenal’s title surge. If anything, that season just displayed how important Cesc is to the team, being the heartbeat and very soul of it. Here’s hoping Jack Wilshere follows his footsteps.
Tally: 9 goals and 17 assists in 36 games
Conclusion:
Under the tutelage of Wenger, Cesc Fabregas has become one of the best (if not best) midfielders in the world. From 2006-2011, Fabregas made 60 league assists, more than any other player in the top five leagues in Europe ahead of the likes of Dani Alves, Ozil, Messi and Lampard.
He’s played a huge role for Spain too from a very young age from the 2006 World Cup to the recent World Cup where he assisted Iniesta for the winner in the final. His passing and vision is second to none – and the scary part? He’s not even close to hitting his prime, and with the surroundings of even more world class players in the Barcelona squad, Cesc will just keep getting better and better.
Whether you’re an Arsenal fan who still misses him or thinks he betrayed you, we all maintain the same hope that he wins as many trophies possible so he can return to the red and white of North London (via his buy back clause) to grace us with his presence and maybe win more than just 2 trophies.
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