Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas has paid tribute to Arsenal and Arsene Wenger, revealing he will be ‘forever grateful’ for what they did for his career.
The 29-year-old will line up against his former manager and some ex-teammates on Saturday at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea look to take another big step towards winning the Premier League this season.
While his allegiance now lies with the Blues since his move from Barcelona in 2014, he made over 300 appearances for the Gunners and still holds them in high regard given the influence they had on his career.
Despite some Arsenal supporters turning on him since his decision to join bitter city rivals Chelsea, Fabregas has insisted that he won’t let that change his feelings towards his former club and Arsene Wenger in particular.
“There’s something that will never change. There’s many things said about me, about Arsenal,” he is quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
“I don’t really care what people think about me any more. It’s just about what I feel towards them.
“Arsenal will always be the team that believed in me the most. I was a young kid, 16 years old, playing for Barcelona. Arsene Wenger, especially, and Arsenal Football Club, gave me everything.”
Given their troubles in midfield currently there is an argument to suggest that Arsenal could probably do with a player like Fabregas available for selection themselves.
However, as noted in the report, Wenger turned down the option to re-sign him when he left Barcelona, and for the most part, that decision has been to Chelsea’s gain as the Spaniard won the league title in his first season with the club and is seemingly heading for another this year.
While he will be plotting the downfall of his former club on Saturday, Arsenal will be desperate to bounce back from that shock loss to Watford in midweek in order to close the gap at the top of the table.