Fabragas: 'Young Gunners can go for it'
Cesc Fabregas believes Arsenal’s youngsters can rise to the challenge of helping fill the midfield void left by the departure of former skipper Patrick Vieira.
With just hours of the transfer window remaining, it seems unlikely manager Arsene Wenger will sign a direct replacement for his long-time enforcer, who decided to call time on his illustrious Highbury career this summer and join Juventus in a £13.75m (€20.1m) deal.
In Alexander Hleb, a £10m (€14.6m) arrival from Stuttgart, and 17-year-old Alexandre Song, Wenger at least has two versatile midfielders. But much of the responsibility looks set to fall on Brazilian Gilberto, who has impressed so far.
With the 28-year-old as his midfield anchor, Wenger is expected to rotate youngsters Cesc Fabregas and Mathieu Flamini, and also his more recent signings, as the Arsenal boss seeks to maintain the side’s competitiveness without risking player burn-out.
And Fabregas is ready to play his part in the months ahead.
“For me, it is a good challenge for the young players,” said the Spaniard, who turned 18 at the start of May and recently signed a deal to keep him with the Premiership club until 2011.
“Patrick has left and we have to demonstrate we can be like him one day, just to try to play our game as we know we can.
“I will just try to do my best and play for the team.
Fabregas said: “We are all working hard and we will see what happens. We have great players he and I am sure we will do well.”
