Cesc Fabregas: Top Five Moments At Arsenal

Cesc Fabregas has finally left. Developed as a young 16 year old in 2003 by Arsenal, he has gone on to become the greatest midfielders in this current generation of footballers. Though it’s sad that in his 8 years, he was only able to win two trophies; the FA Cup and the Community Shield, he did provide us with some magical and memorable moments.

5. Performance against Juventus (05-06)

This was the match when Fabregas made his mark on the international scene. Facing Juventus, in which former Arsenal captain, Patrick Vieira was in the opposite team, Fabregas was going up against his old midfield partner. Not only did he steal Vieira’s spotlight, he tackled him on various occasions cleanly, scored a goal, and also assisted Thierry Henry to make it 2-0 to Arsenal on the night. Arsenal went on to reach their first Champions League final that season.

4. Performance against Man United (06-07)

Arsenal started the season with no wins and faced United early on that season. Without Van Persie and Henry, Arsenal were sure to get a beating as predicted by the pundits, but it was young Cesc Fabregas who proved them all wrong. Stealing the ball from Ronaldo, making the crucial assist to Adebayor who scored in the 86th minute, sealing a famous 1-0 win at Old Trafford made him popular among the Arsenal fans.

3. Barcelona Performances (09-10)(10-11)

We always knew of Fabregas’s desire to leave for Barcelona, but when Arsenal drew Barcelona in the Champions League two seasons in a row, the Arsenal captain showed the utmost desire to help Arsenal triumph over his boyhood club. In the quarterfinals of 2010, with Arsenal 2-0 down at home, Walcott scored and soon after Fabregas had won penalty. What’s so great about this? Fabregas scored it with a broken leg. It was his last contribution of the season but it did give Arsenal a lifeline for the second leg.

As for the 10-11 season, Fabregas along with his teammates finally got revenge for the previous season, coming from behind to defeat Barcelona 2-1 in which Fabregas was greatly instrumental.

2. Goals against Tottenham (07-08)(09-10)

The Spaniard gave fans one more reason to store him in their hearts with match winning performances against bitter rivals, Tottenham. In the 07-08 season, with Arsenal being 1-0 down at White Hart Lane, Fabregas assisted Adebayor with a header for the equalizer, then scored a screamer from distance, finally rounding up with another assist to Adebayor in injury time to seal the win.

Two seasons later, at the Emirates Stadium, just 45 seconds after Robin Van Persie put Arsenal in front, Fabregas doubled the lead, stealing the ball, passing every defender and finally finishing past Gomes. Most probably his best goal in an Arsenal shirt.

1. Milan Goal (07-08)

This is the greatest moment of Cesc Fabregas not because of the goal he scored. The goal shouldn’t have even gone in if not for a clumsy Kalac in the AC Milan goal. But it was the significance of the goal. Eduardo had recently broken his leg and Arsenal had lost all of their confidence and had very little mental strength, drawing all their games leading to this game. After a 0-0 draw against Milan in the first leg of the round of 16 at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal had it all to do at the San Siro.

Arsenal however, completely dominated, with Fabregas even hitting the crossbar in the first half. But it was in the 84th minute where Fabregas hit a low 30 yard drive which secured progress to the quarterfinals. Fabregas, who displayed tears of joy, ran straight to Wenger, with all the substitutes doing a little team huddle. It was a great moment especially with regard to the current morale of the team leading up to the match.