Written by TB Gooner on Saturday, 13 August 2011 20:43

First off, let me say that as this is my first post to Your Vision, I apologise for it being so personal. Additionally, if you read this, keep in mind that I have no ties to Arsenal from other family members or geographical location. I just have my own love for this club.

The Fabregas saga seems to be coming to a close. To be honest, we all knew this day was going to come for the past two years but I had harbored thoughts that we would get one more season out of our midfield maestro. Alas, it is not to be.

This transfer brings back to my mind the last time we let a player of this caliber leave. June 25, 2007. The day we sold Thierry Henry to Barcelona. The transfer that broke my heart.

As an football supporter from America, it is sometimes harder to become an ardent football fan. However, Thierry Henry did just that to me. I began supporting Arsenal circa 2001 and I adored Henry. He was on every jersey of mine, every password, every screen-name.

Because of Henry, I started to watch Arsenal. I fell in love with everything about the club, especially the manager and playing style. However, when Henry left, I was concerned for about a day or so about whether I would still have that same love for the club. I was in Rome on vacation and just needed a break from everything Arsenal. I wondered whether it might be a permanent break.

At the start of the new season, however, I was right back in the pub screaming at the television. That was the moment that I knew this club would be with me my entire life. I love Arsenal. I did while Henry was here; I do still after Henry has gone. Players come and go but the fans remain. We, the fans, are the driving force behind the club. The entire club performs for the fans.

As Arsenal supporters, we understand this feeling that we have right now. We understand it all too well. Vieira, Henry, now Fabregas. And none of them has been (so far) replaced with any sort of likeness. However, every time we have lost a world-class player, we have become a better team for it. Fabregas replaced Vieira and we became better. A combination of RVP and Adebayor replaced Henry, along with Eduardo, and we had our best chance of winning the league in the past few years.

We have been in this position before; we have always come out of it even better. The supporters were at Wenger’s throat when he replaced Vieira with Fabregas. They will be at his throat now whether he promotes Ramsey, or buys a player like Jadson to replace him. However, the season begins now. We should back our players, back our manager, back our board. They have done us right in the past and will do so again in the future. As Wenger said today, look at how many quality players he has brought in over the past 15 years.

Accordingly, I trust Arsene Wenger. And I trust Ivan Gazidis and Stan Kroenke. Most importantly right now, I trust our players. Our first eleven has the quality to beat anyone even without Nasri and Fabregas. Let’s get behind the team and help them make this a season to remember.

As a caveat, I understand those who are frustrated with the manager and board and I even understand the chants, but surely they do not help the team when chanted during the game. Maybe save those chants for before and after the game if you must, lads.

Mean Lean's Response

Thank you for the article TB Gooner, very well said. Many players who were thought to be irreplaceable have come and gone from every single team around the world since the game was invented. I suppose in some ways he is irreplaceable. We will probably never see another player with the exact mental, physical and technical attributes as Cesc Fabregas because each player is unique but football is such a fantastic sport because it can be moulded and structured in infinite ways.

The team will adapt and grow in a different direction, one that I am hoping will benefit Arsenal football club more than it would have done with Cesc in the side. I am not for one minute saying that we are a better team without him, only time will tell that. Cesc's vision and weight of pass, whether that be chipped, slid or curved was exceptional. Only Dennis Bergkamp in modern times was comparable.

Although Cesc has left us too early, I think Cesc's departure could raise the platform for Jack Wilshere just as it did for Francesc Fabregas when Patrick Vieira left.

I've said it before and I will say it again. I believe that Jack Wilshere will become a better and more influential player than Cesc Fabregas given time. I am excited to see the team grow around Wilshere in the future but today we need to bridge the gap between today and that time.

Arsene Wenger has brought many, many fantastic players to this club since he arrived here, I trust and hope that he can do that again before the window closes so we can move onto the new chapter with this promising squad.

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Comments (3)

• 16-Aug-2011 11:51 | | indian gunner forever  - Delightful Read.........
  

  The article made for great reading TB Gooner......more so because it echoed my own sentiments and history about following the great club.
  Yeah it was the Henry era that made me a fan in the early 2000's and boy what a team that was..........and yeah the departures of Vieira & Henry did give similar depressing thoughts.
  
  But the key difference here could be that our squad's morale was already at an all time low at the end of last season and now with this whole saga about Fabregas & Nasri being played out right through the off season - it has really not been ideal preparation by any means for the new season.
  
  We are in danger of losing the aura of being a team that can beat any opponent on its day - something we have always had even immediately after the departures of Henry, Vieira & Bergkamp(retired). The midfield against Newcastle looked just about average - yeah we kept decent possession but there was hardly the kind of creativity one would normally associate with The Arsenal. And the whole problem of creating great players only to lose them when they are the right age and experience to deliver big time is becoming a pattern with the club.
  
  No one would deny that if we had kept last season's squad together without any new additions - we would have been stronger than what we are as on this day. That is what I feel sad for when I think of Wenger.........he brings out these completely unknown players from nowhere - gets them to play in our way and just when they are about to deliver the goods (read trophies) they are on their way out. This has to stop and Nasri won't be a bad example to stop it with. Give the pay packet and keep him cause we can't afford to be seen as a selling club or feeder club.

• 16-Aug-2011 12:50 | | TB Gooner
  

  Thanks for the comments. I agree with most of what you said, except I'm not sure Nasri is really the person to keep to stop this, especially after his comments yesterday. I'm not sure I ever want to see him play for Arsenal again. It's a similar feeling to before Adebayor was sold, at least to me.
  
  I think a big part of why we looked bland against Newcastle was the lack of Wilshere in the center of the park. When Young Jack was missing last season, we had similar experiences with little to no forward movement from midfield, even when Fabregas and Nasri were playing. He is extremely important to the way we play, and will be for years and years to come (hopefully!)
  
  
  forgot to mention in the article to follow me on twitter if you would like
  @TB_Gooner

• 29-Aug-2011 17:25 | | Vitor  - Arsenal Shirts Players
  

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