Fabregas tips young Gunners for the top
442 Staff - Tuesday 30 September 2008, 11:21
Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas believes the club’s latest crop of wonderkids can go all the way to the top.
The Spanish midfielder lavished praise on the Gunners’ rising stars ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League clash against FC Porto on Tuesday night, telling FourFourTwo.com: “They are probably the best young generation Arsenal have had since I have been here. These players are 15, 16, 17 and they are superb. They will be top players.
“Of course not all of them will make it at Arsenal, because there are so many quality players and there are only 11 places in the team, but I am sure all of them will play in the Premier League.”
In the wake of Saturday’s shock home defeat to Premier League new boys Hull City immediately after the kids’ impressive 6-0 Carling Cup win over Sheffield United, Arsene Wenger has hinted that he may be tempted to throw some of his youngsters in at the deep end against the 2004 Champions League winners.
Fabregas believes that the likes of Jack Wilshere, arguably the brightest young talent at The Emirates, and Fran Merida, his team-mate of at Barcelona’s academy, could find themselves thrust into the spotlight.
“You can see the technique," says the Euro 2008 winner. "You can see straight away when a player touches the ball if he has the quality or not and Fran is a tremendous player. Hopefully he will make it at Arsenal.”
Wilshere, who joined the Gunners in 2001 as a nine-year-old and has developed into a creative midfield player with an eye for goal, has created a buzz around the red half of north London with his exploits this season, and Fabregas confesses to being a big fan.
“Jack is serious guy, he doesn’t talk a lot, he really knows what he wants and he is not scared of anything and I really like that. His potential is massive.”
A motivational memo from a team meeting prior to the Premier League fixture at Bolton Wanderers was leaked, which stressed the importance of ‘the team’ - a strength Fabregas identifies with Arsenal’s youth team.
“You can see the players really enjoying playing together and they work really hard," he says.
“The good thing about them is they get on really well with each other, they are the same age, they go out together, they are really good friends and that helps a lot.”
It’s incredible to think Arsenal’s number four should be considered an elder statesman, but at the grand old age of 21 he is. But does he pass on advice to the young lads coming through the ranks?
“No, no, no. Me? I don’t do these things. I’m 21 – I can not do it! I would feel so bad to do it. I said to Jack, to Fran Merida, to Mark (Randall) and all the young players, good luck and just be yourself. I can’t say anything else – I feel embarrassed.”
You can read the full FourFourTwo.com interview here.
Cesc Fabregas was talking at the launch of Real Football 2009 available in September for mobile phones and iPhones. It will be available in November for Nintendo DS.
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