Arsenal's Mesut Ozil and Chelsea's Cesc Fabregas will come face to face on Sunday.
Sumber : Eurosports
So it was all true. Cesc Fàbregas did indeed, as was confirmed by Arsène Wenger, want a return to Arsenal this summer.
But, Wenger being Wenger, had made his decision and that was final. Arsenal already had ample cover in attacking midfield and a player of Fàbregas' ilk was not a necessity. Other areas were prioritised.
To an extent he was right. With Mesut Özil, Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jack Wilshere, Wenger already had plenty of players wanting to play in central areas. There was no space for Fàbregas; the money could be better spent elsewhere.
A striker, a defensive midfielder and a centre-back were widely regarded as the priority, and yet Wenger only really strengthened in attacking areas. Yes Calum Chambers and Mathieu Debuchyarrived, but there were departures in defence too. It left them one injury away from a crisis.
So, Wenger rejected the chance to sign one of the world's best midfielders, happy with what he already had, citing Özil's signing as reason enough to miss out on Fàbregas. With the Spaniard's impressive start to life across London, Wenger is now being made to regret not going in for him.
Fàbregas already leads the Premier League for assists, with 6, while Arsenal players have 7 between them; Özil has just 1.
There is little to separate Özil and Fàbregas in terms of creative ability. When the German is at his best there are few better, so in that sense re-signing Fàbregas did not make sense for the Gunners. In truth, Özil is too good to sit on the bench anywhere and moving him out wide has been rather fruitless.
But - and there is a big but - when a player of Fàbregas' quality asks to join your team, you simply have to make room for him.
It must hurt Arsenal fans to see him show such quality in the blue of Chelsea. His stats scream class even more than his displays.
He has created the most chances in the Premier League this season (20), including the most chances deemed 'clear-cut' by the statisticians at Opta; he has completed more passes (453) than any other player, including the most through balls (4). His assists are varied, too; he leads the league for those from both open play (4) and dead balls (2).
His vision is unrivalled by anyone else in England's top tier. Incredibly, despite spending 3 of the last 6 seasons in Spain, Fàbregas has played more accurate through balls (68) than any other player since the start of the 2009/10 season, doing so in 58 appearances. Second in that list isDavid Silva, with 66 in some 136 appearances.
Özil, meanwhile, has drifted in and out of games, looking disinterested and fatigued after a World Cup triumph that consumed him physically and emotionally. He has created a fairly meagre 11 chances (with just that 1 assist), scored once against an Aston Villa side ravaged by illness, and contributed defensively as if he'll be struck down if he strays too near his own goal.
He has unquestionably world class, but there is an argument to say that while Alexis Sanchezwas an exciting signing, the chance to snap up a proven Premier League player in Fàbregas should have been grabbed with both hands.
Fàbregas was always going to be a success upon returning to the Premier League, and while Arsène Wenger will never admit it, it was always going to be a mistake to let him go anywhere other than his preferred destination; the Emirates.
-- By Alistair Tweedale, Editor-in-Chief, WhoScored.Com
All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, where you can find yet more stats, including live in-game data and unique player and team ratings.
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