David Raya has picked between Patrick Vieira and Cesc Fabregas and his answer will disgruntle a fair few Arsenal fans.
Taking part in a ‘This or That’ TikTok challenge, the Arsenal goalkeeper was asked to choose between the two best central midfielders of the club’s Premier League era.
He hesitated, at least, which shows some awareness of what he was getting himself into.
“You’ve put me in a pickle there. Different styles of players. But more recent obviously, Fabregas,” he said, siding with his fellow Spaniard.
Most Arsenal fans will no doubt disagree.
How do you feel about Cesc Fabregas? Is he an Arsenal legend?
Fabregas remains a complicated figure for a significant portion of the Arsenal fanbase — a player they adored during his time at the Emirates, but who somewhat tarnished his legacy by joining Chelsea in 2014 and winning the Premier League title against his former club. Not ideal.
Some are more forgiving, arguing that had Arsenal come knocking, he’d have returned in a heartbeat — but Arsene Wenger passed up on the chance.
For most Gunners supporters, Vieira — the imperious, trophy-winning captain of the Invincibles — is the obvious winner.
The Vieira vs Fabregas Arsenal debate still lingers
The case for Patrick Vieira is fairly straightforward. Three league titles, four FA Cups, and the small matter of an entire unbeaten season.
Rolling leadership, physical dominance, and technical quality into one, he was the heartbeat of one of the greatest club sides English football has ever seen.
And he did it while making it look like a completely reasonable thing to do.
Cesc Fabregas, meanwhile, was a generational talent who arrived as a teenager and became one of the most creative midfielders in world football.
His vision and passing range were extraordinary, and he carried the captain’s armband at just 21, shouldering Arsenal almost single-handedly through the early Emirates years when the squad around him was, to put it charitably, not quite Invincibles-level.
Where Fabregas does have the edge, perhaps, is in management.
He has hugely impressed in his early coaching career, guiding Como to European football for the first time in the club’s history in Serie A — with a Champions League spot still not entirely out of reach.
Some have already started wondering whether his path might eventually lead back to the Emirates.
Vieira, most recently in charge of Genoa before departing towards the end of 2025, has had a more mixed experience in the dugout.
As players, though, the argument is harder to make. David Raya may want to think about that one again.
Is Declan Rice Arsenal’s best midfield player since Patrick Vieira?
And if Arsenal go on to complete a historic Premier League and Champions League double this season, the conversation may soon need updating anyway.
Declan Rice has been the engine of everything Arteta’s side have achieved this campaign, and a league title and European Cup in the same season would put him firmly in the company of Vieira and Fabregas in the pantheon of Arsenal midfield greats.
Which is a sentence that would have felt quite ambitious three years ago.
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