Cesc Fabregas' move to Chelsea saddens me, but it's probably for the best.
It will make me sad to see a world class player who really grew up at Arsenal playing for one of our rivals, but midfield isn't an area of the team that is a priority for strengthening at the moment. Don't get me wrong, I think Fabregas could've improved our team, he is genuinely world class after all, but signing him would have meant either leaving out Ozil or Ramsey, or playing players out of position.
Sure, we could accommodate Cesc. We could play him on the wing, up front, or in the defensive midfield position, but would he be happy with that? He may be happy to help out the team by playing out of position occasionally, but longer term, players like to play in their favoured position. Besides, it wouldn't really be getting the best out of a large investment.
Another alternative would be to drop Ramsey or Ozil (who one could argue are as good as Cesc), but would either of those be happy with that? I don't think so. And what about players like the Ox and Wilshere, who will struggle to get into the team anyway when everyone is fit. Would they be happy to be pushed further down the pecking order to accommodate Cesc? You may be able to get away with benching world class talent if you are Chelsea or Man City, who can pay ridiculous wages and are perceived by players (perhaps correctly) as having a better chance of winning the league than Arsenal, but world class players don't sit on the bench at Arsenal; you just wouldn't get away with it.
Another alternative would be to play Ozil or Ramsey out wide, but Ramsey has already proved that he is better in a central position and I would be worried about our lack of pace in the wide positions if Ozil played on the wing. Besides, would he be happy with that, long term? And what then of Walcott, Cazorla, Ox and Podolski? Where would they fit in? Not to mention Joel Campbell, who's currently pulling up trees in England's World Cup group for Costa Rica.
Then there is also the matter of Cesc betraying Arsenal by forcing a move to Barcelona, with all that Barca DNA stuff and Spanish team mates forcing him to wear a Barca shirt and begging him to join. There was even a rumour that he refused to play in pre-season friendlies, though we don't know for sure that that's true. Some fans might forgive him for that, others may not.
So, yes, it is sad to see Cesc go to Chelsea, but it's probably best to save our money for the positions we do need to strengthen. World class strikers don't come cheap and we also need a right back and a back up keeper at least. Another backup centre back would also be nice and, if we have any money left, another defensive midfielder – after all, Arteta and Flamini are very good, but I believe it is possible to improve on them, and they aren't getting any younger.
That said, if we don't strengthen those positions, I will be most non-gruntled.
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