Saturday, July 30

Is Cesc Fabregas a legend?

By @15yearoldgooner

@15yearoldgooner is back with his thoughts again

Well, that depends. Firstly, what’s your definition of a legend? Somebody who wins trophies? Somebody who stays at the club for many years? Somebody who creates magic moments? Or even just one magic moment?



The word legend is just that: a word. Yet it’s caused so much debate amongst Arsenal fans recently. The interweb tells me one definition of the word is: one who inspires legends (as in tales) or achieves legendary fame.

And hasn’t Cesc done that? For me, he definitely has. I’m part of the younger generation of Arsenal fans, and most of my stories about Arsenal will be about him. For example, one of my all-time favourite games was the victory over Juventus at Highbury.

I remember standing on the East Stand (of course we had seats at the time, but I was too short to see) to watch Cesc dominate the game completely, and for an 18 year old, that was pretty amazing. Against Juventus – the likes of Pavel Nedved, Gianluigi Buffon and PATRICK VIEIRA!

I can still picture Cesc wheeling away in triumph after slotting the ball past Buffon, and then celebrating with Thierry after setting him up for our second. I’ll also never forget Cesc dragging us back into games when we looked lost – Bolton, home and away (09/10 and 07/08 respectively), Blackburn at home 09/10 (I’ll always remember that masterclass) and so many other match-winning performances.

People moan about how he wants to join Barcelona, but he’s handled the situation like a true professional. No transfer requests, no interviews expressing his wish to leave (cough Adebayor), just waiting patiently, and if he doesn’t get the move, he’ll just shrug and get on with his football, just like he did last season.

As Tim Stillman *pointed out* today, if he leaves this summer, it’ll be as a 24-year-old having won one FA Cup; just like a certain Liam Brady, who is looked upon as an undoubted legend. So what’s different? And make no mistake, Cesc would love to win another trophy with us. Last season, when fully fit anyway, he was playing like a madman – I remember how driven he was against Manchester City and Tottenham (both away). He even tried taking on the whole defence a couple of times, that’s how desperate he is to win a trophy.

The measure of a legend isn’t how many trophies he wins – if so, many clubs would have no legends at all because they’re not in a position to win trophies. I judge a player a legend if they leave a mark on me – through what I see or what I hear. Despite not being around when he was, David Rocastle is a legend to me because I’ve heard so many stories about him, from my dad and other Arsenal fans. And when I’m older, I’ll tell countless stories about Fabregas, regardless of when he leaves.

Everything about Francesc Fabregas has left a mark on me. Perhaps it’s because of my generation – I can relate to a young player coming through the ranks, and also, Cesc was my first real ‘favourite player’ for a long time. I liked Reyes a lot, but then he left. So it was Fabregas for me, ever since we beat Juventus 2-0.

There are so many times that we’ve come close to winning a trophy – think back, and ask yourself: without Cesc, would we have been anywhere near that? I don’t think so. His contribution is immense, whether it’s through goals scored or goals assisted. Nearly all of our play goes through him. He’s an absolutely sensational footballer, and I feel proud to have had him for 7 years, even if we might not have him for much longer.

To me, he’s a legend.

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