Cesc Fabregas Returns to Barcelona

Throughout the past couple of seasons, something must have been on Cesc Fabregas's mind every time he pulled on his Arsenal jersey. His adoration for Arsenal was slowly shifting into a deep homesickness for Barcelona. His past season at Arsenal wasn't his best, as he was probably thinking about playing with Xavi, Iniesta and Messi at Barcelona. Now, he has finally returned to the Spanish and European champions, banishing whatever dark thoughts there were which were haunting him at Arsenal before.

Cesc Fabregas, quite the happy camper at Barcelona

Barcelona and Arsenal have agreed the fee for the 24 year-old Spaniard, and it gravitates around 40 million Euros. Of course, if certain bonuses are met, then we could see the Catalans having to dish out an additional 15 million Euros for Fabregas.

Now that Barcelona have assembled their perfect midfield, Arsenal's has now become questionable. Nasri could also be leaving the Gunners, leaving a creative hole which might need to be replaced. But Arsene Wenger isn't worried about the loss of one of his greatest players:

"We fought to keep him but in the end we have to respect the desire of the player as well. This Club is 125 years-old this season and many big players left and yet the Club went on. We want to show that we have the strengths and unity to fight as we ever did at this Club."

The strange thing is, I slightly agree with him. With or without Fabregas, Arsenal would accomplish the same things in this new season. But the question remains now, can Wenger sign a player who will help Arsenal overachieve? Probably not.

It might sound strange, but a player Wenger should be signing is Inter Milan's Wesley Sneijder. He'd be stealing the Dutch playmaker from Manchester United, he'd be replacing Fabregas, and he'd get a player who knows how to shoot the ball from outside the box. Sneijder would strengthen the side notably, and his constant thirst for trophies could only help Arsenal in their struggle for silverware.

Whether Wenger will spend much money this summer is still a mystery to me, but what is certain is that he will be preparing Arsenal to face Udinese tomorrow night. The Champions League qualifier is a defining game for Arsenal's season, and the pressure to get through is all on the Gunners. The first leg of the qualifier is at the Emirates tomorrow, with the second leg being in the Stadio Friuli in Udine.


What are your thoughts on the Fabregas transfer? Who should Arsenal sign? Can Wenger defeat Udinese in the Champions League qualifier? Leave your comments below!

Tevez Staying at Man City, Will Nasri Join Him?

This article was written by Pete South, follow him on Twitter @peterwsouth.


Carlos Tevez will stay with Manchester City according to Roberto Mancini despite intense speculation the Argentinian forward would be leaving Eastlands this summer. Tevez was being chased by Inter Milan, with Mancini said to be keen on bringing Samuel Eto’o to Manchester as part of the deal, but now the Italian has revealed that the move stuttered because the Serie A side were unwilling to sell Eto’o.

Roberto Mancini said this about the player:

"Yes, of course Tevez will stay, he is a fantastic player... There was talk of an exchange with Eto'o but Inter did not want to sell.”

Tevez had earlier seemed keen on a move after admitting on an Argentinian chat show that he wasn’t enjoying life in the north-west of England – and added that he would not return to Manchester. Here's a bit of what he said:

"I don't have any new friends, I am always with my family and lifelong friends. I don't even leave my house. I'm the stay-at-home type... There is nothing to do in Manchester. The problem is I'm still speaking very poor English... When I finish my contract I will not return to Manchester ever - not even on holiday."

While the deal for Tevez and Eto’o appears to be a non-starter, the future of Arsenal’s Samir Nasri still hangs in the balance after Mancini revealed he would be interested in adding him to his squad. When asked if a deal had been done for the former Marseille midfielder, Mancini offered a short but telling answer, saying: “No, not yet.”

Nasri’s future has been the subject of much speculation after he reportedly turned down a new contract to stay with Arsenal worth £90,000 a week. Manchester United were favourites to land the skilful midfielder, but with City playing Champions League football for the first time next season and said to be on the verge of adding even more new players to their squad as they go in search of trophies, there is a good chance Nasri could end up playing in City’s red black away shirt next season.

With just twelve months left on his current deal, Nasri is keen to listen to other clubs as he goes in search of winning trophies; something he has been unable to do at Arsenal. The Gunners have gone six years without a trophy, and Nasri insisted he wasn’t interested in money, but wanted the opportunity to win silverware. Nasri said the following:

"We already earn huge wages, the priority is to make a big career and to win titles … With no titles under your belt, you can't be in the list for the Ballon D'Or. I came to England to get trophies because I haven't won anything in my career. I am hungry for titles. I play football because I love this sport and want to feel the emotion of winning. Lifting a trophy all together, this is the beauty and sense of team sports."

Will Nasri make the move to Manchester City? How would he fit in? What are your thoughts on Arsenal, Manchester City, Tevez, and Nasri? Share them in the comments below!

PFA 2011 Player of the Year Award Nominees Announced

Image from The Guardian

Every season there are players which light up the Premier League. This season there have been quite a few, some performing consistently and others maybe a little less. The PFA awards shortlists of the season were announced, and they seem to contain all the necessary players, even if they had to do some last minute adding on. Below are the shortlists for Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year.


PFA Players’ Player of the Year nominees:

Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur)
Charlie Adam (Blackpool)
Samir Nasri (Arsenal)
Scott Parker (West Ham United)
Carlos Tevez (Manchester City)
Rafael van der Vaart (Tottenham Hotspur)
Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United)


PFA Young Player of the Year nominees:


Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur)
Seamus Coleman (Blackpool)
Joe Hart (Manchester City)
Javier Hernandez (Manchester United)
Nani (Manchester United)
Samir Nasri (Arsenal)
Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)

There have been many complaints that Nani should be on the PFA Player of the Year Award Nominees, as his phenomenal play cutting inside from the wings for Manchester United helped win many matches. Seeing him on the Young Player list is a little strange, but I guess it is a form of recognition.

So who do you think will win the awards? I think I'll go with Scott Parker and Nani. What about you? Share your winners below!

Samir Nasri Shows How Player Loyalty Has Changed

Will these two remain at Arsenal for long?

Samir Nasri surely should be commended for saying he wants to stick around at the Arsenal until he helps them achieve ultimate success. But the fact remains that this pretty much fully represents the extent of modern player loyalty.

With Barcelona manage to keep its side together because the club's success and ability to pay large wages, the big challenge remains for clubs to want to develop talent. Even though they know that a fair amount of the players they turn into stars will leave for new pastures. With the Champions League odds suggesting Arsenal will be perennial contenders in Europe's biggest tournament, you'd think players would hang around, but sadly this doesn't seem to be the case.

It may appear old fashioned in this day and age to hope for more players to follow Gary Neville and Paolo Maldini, and spend their entire career at their club without even a whisper of them moving away to another side. Although the Bosman ruling may have caused the death of this tradition, it is still not ridiculous to hope for players to stay at one club longer than the length of one contract (or in the case of most players not even that long). Although the Arsenal betting suggests the club will always challenge for trophies, that doesn't seem to be enough for players these days.

When a contract length is decided not by how long the club wants a player, but instead how long the player will be happy with the wages the club sign him on before he starts to ask for a move or more money, then you know that there is something hugely wrong. Something is wrong With the way footballers are treating and respecting clubs and fans.

If football is not going to experience the kind of fan disenchantment that occurred in the 1980s, then players need to start looking back at history in order to avoid fans once more switching off from a game that no longer holds any interest for them.