Cesc Fabregas returns to action wearing the red and white at Bolton tomorrow and in this morning’s Mirror, AW has been gushing forth on the merits of our very own Spanish conquistador.
AW said: “We are now into a period where we need to rotate, do we like it or not. And that means, it’s important of course, vitally important to have him back.
“Cesc is an exceptional player, a world-class player. He is a special talent, he started here at 16. He is a very intelligent player.
“We have a model here that is based on team play so it’s always difficult for me to say: ‘It’s only about him.’ But I believe we want the team to be the star here.
“I believe he’s more mature and he has gained a fraction of power. He’s 22, that’s when you become really a man. And maybe because of the system we play it allows him to go a bit more to go forward.
“I don’t think he’s worked on his finishing. We play a different system now which allows him to get forward more.
“I believe it’s just his calmness in front of goal, he always had the chances, Cesc, and in some games he missed three or four, because he wanted always to finish with power.
“Now he finishes calmly, he places the ball and suddenly he scores goals. I always said that he will score goals, because it will come when he gets more power and calm in front of goal and that’s what happens now.”
Anyone just coming round after a week in a coma here is the shock news as reported this morning on Arsenal.com: Sol Campbell has rejoined the Gunners.
And the Telegraph AW has his say on the homecoming: “I believe since he has gone to a different club he has matured and I didn’t put the knife under his throat [to return],” he said.
“I gave an opportunity at the start to Sol Campbell to practise and become fit again and then he got the taste to play with the players. His tests are quite surprisingly good, physically. He worked harder than ever I think. They all become more professional when they get older.”
In other news, the Daily Mail reports that Andrey Arshavin has rubbished talk that he needs an operation on his niggling foot injury.
The Russia striker has been training lightly and playing with discomfort in the absence of Robin van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner. but the paper says sources close to the player say there is no truth in Russian press reports that he needs to go under the knife.
The Mail reminds us that we have been using the 28-year-old as the central spearhead in the absence of Van Persie and that Arshavin is managing his injury well and he is expected to start at Bolton. Bendtner is still about a fortnight away from returning from a hernia problem, adds the tabloid.
But according the Sun this morning, birthday boy Bendtner has suffered a new setback in his return from injury.
He underwent hernia surgery and has also suffered a groin problem and was expected back early this month – but now it seems he may not return until February, says the paper.
AW said: “It’s another two weeks. I’m desperate to get him back but every week, it’s two weeks unfortunately.”
And of teh upcoming matches, AW told the paper: “We know that it is a very sensitive period coming up. But let’s first have the two Bolton games, after we have always bigger teams but it’s important we do well now. If we do well after those four games, we have a good road to the end.”
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