Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has been facing the media ahead of the Gunners decisive clash at the Nou Camp with Barcelona tonight. Fabregas was a major doubt last week but is almost certain to start against his boyhood club and has urged his Arsenal team to keep things simple and just play their own game against the Spanish giants:
“We have to be ourselves and play our game, which is the important thing,” said Fabregas when he faced the media on Monday.
“We have to be intelligent and mature enough to solve the problems they may cause. We know Barcelona keeps possession of the ball something like 70 per cent of the game and we are not used to that.
“We have got to be ready for everything.”
Fabregas is spot-on here, Arsenal will have to play a smart game tonight and show maturity beyond their years if they are to progress despite holding a slender 2-1 advantage. Fabregas also spoke about the surprise call-up of striker Van Persie and he knows full well how important the Dutchman is to the team:
“Robin is a very important player for us, he is the perfect striker, he can do everything and understands the game very, very well,” said Fabregas.
“For a midfielder to have a player like him, it is fantastic because he gives you all the options that you need.
“I was very surprised [to hear he was in the squad] because this [Monday] morning we did not know anything about it. He woke up feeling great and said he wanted to try and practice. No-one wanted to cheat on anyone, it has been a surprise on the whole team.
“He was bandaging his ankle for training and said ‘I am doing great and I want to try. Let’s see how I feel tomorrow’. If he is fit to play, it would be very good.”
