Cesc Fabregas has had his say on Arsene Wenger becoming Arsenal’s longest-serving boss this week as the Frenchman notched up 13 years in the Gunners hotseat.
Fabregas, 22, told the Sun he believes it is AW’s refusal to rest on his laurels and his constant determination to improve the team which makes him such a managerial great.
Fabregas said: “The boss will never be 100 per cent happy with what you do. If he sees that you are thinking you have reached the top level, he will show you a video and say how you should have done something differently.
“He goes one by one through all the players after a team meeting about what he expects of each of us. I know I need to be better defensively and that I still have a lot to learn and to give defensively.
“It’s one of the points I need to be stronger on to be a complete midfielder. I have to work with the final pass as well and give more support to my team-mates.”
In this morning’s Daily Mirror, Nicklas Bendtner has relived his car crash horror and claimed ‘Divine Intervention’ saved his life.
Bendtner admits it is a “miracle“ he is still alive after crashing his £120,000 Aston Martin on Sunday on his way into training. He missed Tuesday night’s Champions League win over Olympiacos because he was still so shaken up by the smash and has trained on his own ever since.
And Bendtner admits that he still cannot believe he walked from the wreckage of his car, and believes only God saved him.
Bendtner said: “Someone took care of me out there on the road. I don’t know what or who, but in a larger picture, there simply was someone who helped me. I firmly believe that it just wasn’t the time for me to leave this life.”
Of the accident, he added in the Daily Telegraph: “I recall every single fraction of a second. I didn’t pass out or lose consciousness. Somebody claimed that I was speeding at 160 km/h. I don’t know where such nonsense has been invented. It is completely false. I did not travel that fast. Not at all. I have spoken to the police and there will be no case because speeding was not involved.
“The accident happened because a car pulled in right in front of me in the left lane. I realised that I would ram the other car a second later if I failed to react. I remember thinking: ‘This will end every, very badly. I could die now’.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mail reports that Bendtner could replace fellow striker Eduardo, who aggravated a thigh injury against the Greeks, while Theo Walcott is also expected to make a return to first-team action.
Wenger said: ‘Unfortunately we lost Eduardo after he came on [against Olympiacos], but Walcott and Bendtner are available.
‘It was a gamble to play Eduardo and unfortunately his muscle injury got worse. It is the same thigh muscle and has recurred a few times now. He will be out.’
Manuel Almunia is also likely to miss out as he recovers from a chest infection, while Lukasz Fabianski and Samir Nasri are due to return to training after the international break.