Cesc Fàbregas

[Doobs]

I thought he made some decent passes. Improved from the last game. Thiago out shines him every time he comes on nowadays.

 

[Beast]

Poor match from Cesc. I don't understand what's happening to him. Last season was the same; great first half of the season, poor in the 2nd.

The Arsenal DNA is strong in him

 

[Vapor]

Poor match from Cesc. I don't understand what's happening to him. Last season was the same; great first half of the season, poor in the 2nd.

I think he is going through a bit of a slump. no doubt. All of our players have gone through them this season. I think he just needs some momentum to gain full form back and he'll be good.

I think once he starts playing with the strength and confidence he was playing with earlier in the season he'll be awesome for us again. Just needs to work on his consistency (a la Iniesta and Messi... very consistent)

 

[Richard.H]

I thought he made some decent passes. Improved from the last game. Thiago out shines him every time he comes on nowadays.

Also this. Very true. With the little minutes Thiago gets, it seems Thiago seems more active, more present, and more lively than him. Yes, Thiago is prone to making stupid mistakes, but at least he's hungry to get the ball and show off his skills.

 

[Flavia]

Started out slow but stepped it up later in the game. Much better.

I think he just needs to gain some more momentum and keep that feeling up. Near the end he was showing that he can control the game quite a bit when he's on point. He wasn't even fully on point either.

Even though he wasn't at the top of his game he still created some nice chances, made some nice runs and picked out some good assist chances. Could have easily had 1-2 assists if Messi'd had finished them. Room for improvement but not too bad, still a lot of good spots.


I'm with you, I don't think he was as bad as many people think he was. He created a FEW chances this game, which is his primary job (along with maintaining possession).

If one of those chances was converted, the reactions would be different. He wasn't brilliant, but wasn't bad.

 

[Stric]

Thiago is a flashier player and will obviously outshine Cesc anytime. Cesc's performance today wasn't really one of his better ones, for sure, but some of the stuff he did was kind of like what Busquets does. He did it from the shadow. He got the job done without attracting much attention to it. Some good ball recovering, defensive effort, a few really good through balls, even one or two possible assists. Still way below his standard level, though.

 

[Doobs]

Also this. Very true. With the little minutes Thiago gets, it seems Thiago seems more active, more present, and more lively than him. Yes, Thiago is prone to making stupid mistakes, but at least he's hungry to get the ball and show off his skills.

Thiago is more comfortable than Cesc in midfield because he's been nurtured to play our way from day one. Cesc's time at Arsenal changed his approach to the game and his directness affects his play even now. His strengths are in the final third. He's so much better than Thiago in the final third. His passing and link up play are world class in that area of the pitch. I still think he's transitioning into our system.

There are two things I believe he needs to work on.. First his decision making. Whenever you watch him play instead of Xavi and Iniesta, you realize just how good those two are. They know what they're going to with the ball before they even get it. This is what makes Cesc look so slow when he's in the centre and why he seems to suffer against pressing teams. He needs to work on his decision making.

Secondly, he needs to work on his mobility. He movement just doesn't seem good enough, especially when he's off form.

He has the entire passing skill set, he just needs to work on his game right now and not get boged down by criticism from people expecting him to get to Xavi and the Don's level so soon.

 

[barcanuck]

2nd half of the season Cesc is back. Adds no fluidity, very little ball control. When he has the ball the fans have to yell at him that there is a Rayo player chasing him from behind about to take the ball away. No awareness, no passion, not much of anything right now from Cesc. Needs a real kick in the ass.

 

[Deco 20]

He's a good passer, but still has to improve on his positioning and technique. He might just have the worst first touch in the team, maybe even after Valdes and Pinto. This is why it always looks like he's got less time than other players.

2 things he did today stood out: the pass to Messi and passing the ball straight to the opponents striker.

 

[evilhita666]

I wonder what would happen to Cesc if he was played like Keita... While he lacks Seydou's physicality and aerial prowess, he shares the drive to push forward and come from midfield to score goals, and apparently they are on the same ground when it comes to technical ability and defensive duties... Pep used Keita to such effects with great success, so how about Tito tries it with Cesc?

 

[DonAndres]

He should get a run-out at false 9 vs Celta to maybe get some of his momentum back in attack. He needs something to snap him out of this run of bad games otherwise he'll keep getting stuck at only being good for one half of a season.

 

[barca7788]

i think the pressure is the msin reason hebis under performing. once xavi retires we should definitely try him n iniesta to workout on the mid.
remember the days when xavi n iniesta used to suck while on the same pitch.
he will be boss once again as he was in his arsenal days.

 

[Youngie]

I thought Cesc had a good game. Rarely lost possession & he could have had 3+ assists - not his fault Messi and Villa couldn't finish the chances he made. He does miss Xavi next to him and Puyol & Valdes to lead him.

 

[Dan1983]

Didn't have a bad game, but didn't have a great game neither.

 

[dmode]

Thought had a pretty good game. Could have had 4-5 assists:
- Pass to Messi in the 5th minute
- Nice through ball to Villa around 20th minute
- Nice header to Messi
- Beautiful one touch pass to Messi that was brilliantly defended
- Pass to Alexis that should have been the easiest chance of the game
I am sure I missed a few ones