Move over Zubimendi: Arsenal have their new Fabregas in £26m “monster”
da realbet： While his time at the club didn’t end in the way many hoped it would, it’s impossible to overstate the impact Arsène Wenger had at Arsenal.
da dobrowin： The Professor, as he was often referred to, helped turn the club into an international powerhouse during his 22 years at the helm, winning three Premier League titles, seven FA Cups, and seven Community Shields.
He also brought some of the best international players the league had ever seen to North London, including Thierry Henry, Robert Pirès, and Cesc Fàbregas.
The young Spaniard was sensational during his time at the club, and it looks like Mikel Arteta could have found his own version, and we aren’t talking about Martin Zubimendi.
Fàbregas' early Arsenal career
Arsenal agreed to pay Barcelona around £2m to sign Fàbregas in the summer of 2003, and while that now looks like a bargain, you have to remember he was still just 16 years old at the time.
He made his full first-team debut just a few months later, starting a League Cup game against Rotherham United in October, although he would finish that season with just three appearances and a goal to his name.
The following campaign would be very different indeed, though, as he would go on to make 46 appearances for the side, with 33 coming in the league.
Moreover, despite not even being 20 years old, the tremendously exciting Spaniard played a key role in the Gunners’ FA Cup triumph that year, making six appearances, five of which were starts and playing 86 minutes of the final against Manchester United.
By this point, it was crystal clear that the North Londoners had got their hands on a truly world-class player, and talent scout Jacke Kulig would later put it, he was “one of the best U21s in Premier League history.”
The following season saw him help the club reach their first Champions League final, and while they lost 2-1 to his former club, the Arenys de Mar-born ace played 74 minutes, even though he was still just 19.
In recognition of his ability and importance to the team, the mercurial midfielder was named captain in November 2008.
Fàbregas’ Arsenal career
Appearances
303
Starts
266
Minutes
23847′
Goals
57
Assists
95
Goal Involvements per Match
0.50
Minutes per Goal Involvement
156.88
Points per Game
1.99
All Stats via Transfermarkt
However, much to the disappointment of the Emirates faithful, he would eventually push for a move back to Barça in the summer of 2011, with a tally of 57 goals and 95 assists in 303 games for the club.
In all, Fàbregas remains one of the most exciting young players to have ever played for Arsenal, but there is someone in the current squad who could also be in line for similar praise a few years from now, and we aren’t talking about fellow Spaniard Zubimendi.
Arsenal's new Fàbregas
Now, there is certainly an argument to be made that Zubimendi could be looked upon as the ‘new’ Fàbregas due to his technical skill and the fact that he’s a midfielder.
Chalkboard
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However, in this instance, the player is a little more left-field: Cristhian Mosquera.
Yes, we know that he plays in a totally different position and, therefore, style to the former Arsenal star, but there remain a few key similarities between the pair.
First and foremost, like the Gunners’ former midfield maestro, the impressive centre-back has moved to the North Londoners at a very young age.
Granted, at 19, he is three years older than Cesc was, but as centre-backs tend to hit their peak two years later than midfielders, they are at a fairly similar point development-wise.
Moreover, even though he’s made the move while still being just a teenager, the former Valencia ace already looks utterly at ease in the Premier League and Champions League.
For example, he didn’t look remotely out of place when he came on for the injured William Saliba at Anfield.
Then, in the games against Nottingham Forest and Athletic Bilbao, he helped to keep two clean sheets while completing a staggering 75 passes in both games.
In fact, the 6 foot 3 “monster,” as dubbed by one analyst, has adapted to life in North London so well that one Arsenal content creator has gone as far as labelling him the “signing of the summer.”
In other words, we expect the Alicante-born titan to become a key member of the squad very quickly despite his age, much in the same way that Fàbregas did when he joined over 20 years ago.
Then, there are also the other, more surface-level similarities, such as both being Spanish and making the move to England from La Liga sides.
Ultimately, Arsenal look like they have hit the jackpot with Mosquera, and we would not be surprised to see him develop into a player as important to the club as Fàbregas once was.
