Arsene Wenger dismisses Fabregas and Michael Owen comparisons as Kevin Doyle urges Wolves to step up
Arsenal’s midfielder Fabregas has been recently compared to the injury ridden Michael Owen as both of the players have had similar fitness issues. Hamstring injuries have plagued both the players lately but for Owen, such fitness issues have been quite frequent
as the striker has suffered from hamstring troubles since his career’s early days. In comparison to Michael Owen, Fabregas has also suffered a lot of hamstring injuries. His latest injury came in Arsenal’s two goal loss to Braga in the UEFA Champions League.
Arsene Wenger spoke about the comparison between Owen and Fabregas as he said, "Cesc is a ball giver and Owen was more a runner. The strength of Owen was more based on his pace and the timing of his runs. Cesc is more a playmaker, so he doesn't need to sprint
as much. That's what is remarkable in Cesc's case: usually, people who are exposed to hamstring injuries are sprinters like Owen or Ryan Giggs but Cesc is more a stamina player and that's what puzzles me a little bit.”
Fabregas’ injury really hurt Arsenal as they went onto lose the match in a humiliating manner. Early on in the season, the Spanish midfielder suffered the same hamstring injury when Arsenal travelled to Sunderland to play against the Black Cats. Cesc’s injury
troubles have hampered Arsenal’s ambitions to gain the lead of the league table. Last year, Michael Owen had a surgery on his hamstring to deal with the troubles and it is possible that Fabregas might have to go through the same fate later on in his career
if these troubles don’t leave his side.
The Frenchman added, "I'll do what is right for him and for the club but I will listen, of course, to medical people. It is a hamstring and I remember Ryan Giggs has gone through that his whole career but it didn't stop him from making a big career."
Arsenal’s manager is persistent that the club is set to deal with Fabregas’ injury troubles as extensively as they can. Arsene Wenger said, "We will consult every specialist we can. But, at the end of the day, it doesn't stop him from being injured."
Regardless of whatever happens, Fabregas is going to miss the weekend’s encounter against Aston Villa in the English Premier League, "I think he has more pressure on his shoulders than before. Pressure to do well, pressure to deliver, to be the captain.
He feels responsibility to win things that's for sure. I don't know if that has an influence but it's difficult because you can have psychological reasons or physical reasons - it's difficult."
The Gunners manager went onto elaborate, "When you take the captaincy away from someone, you put more pressure on that person. You tell them that he's not good enough to be captain. He had a period where he had problems with his hamstring - but the more
you make a case of it, the more it becomes a problem."
On the other hand, Kevin Doyle has come out and asked Wolverhampton Wanderers to lift their game and start winning in the English Premier League. The Irish striker said, "It hasn't been great with the results we've had but, sometimes, it only takes one win
and you can see the bright side again. If you get the win under your belts, it can act as a kick-start for a decent run. Hopefully, we can do that tomorrow - but we know we need to do it sooner rather than later. It has been a while and it does cause a knock-on
effect but we're all working hard to try and ensure it will happen against Sunderland.”
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