I think with Villa now playing in top form and getting a lot more minutes, I think we will see Cesc start to shine more and more. Having 2 dedicated attacking strikers like Villa and Alexis both making runs up top is exactly what Cesc needs that he's been missing. His ability to pick out players for through balls and to make runs/attacking plays himself will be on display more in this situation... it's also arguably two of the points where Cesc is currently stronger than Xavi.
I think Cesc can play with either Xavi or Iniesta just fine if he is on his game. The only question is how much of his A-game does bring. With Xavi on, Cesc can play more of an attacking role, perhaps making more runs. Playing with Iniesta, both are generally more attack-minded than Xavi, so there I guess Cesc would play more from deeper, but still interchanging in attack with Iniesta all the same.
I think what he still crucially lacks with Barca that he had with Arsenal is that complete self-assurance. At Arsenal he knew he was the man, and so he held a pretty high level of form for quite a long time. He's still that great player now, but it seems to me that he still doesn't have that complete mastery and self-possession that Iniesta, Xavi and Messi possess. I think that'll come more in time. Cesc is already showing signs of his greatness now, but once he's fully self-confident in the Barcelona style he'll really start to blossom. In the next season or 2 I predict.
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