Cesc Fabregas vows to return to lead Arsenal against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League
Cesc Fabregas is positive about leading Arsenal when they take on Barcelona in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League, next Tuesday. He is working out to gain back form.
Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal boss has ruled Fabregas out of Saturday’s game at home to Sunderland, but he is hopeful to get the midfielder back in time to face his former club.
Wenger said that he personally wants the skipper to be fit till Tuesday so he can play against Barcelona, but the manager does not seem to be ready to involve him on Saturday against Sunderland. The Arsenal boss seems to take the injury of his player keenly on a day to day basis and does not want to risk him by any means. According to him the player will not be tested before Monday.
The Spaniard suffered a hamstring injury against Stoke City last month, and could not play against Birmingham City in the final of the League Cup. He reported to his club on Wednesday night that he was getting better and knows that he would get fit enough to play.
"I am running, getting better and don’t sense any pain. We’ll see how the next few days go. Perhaps I’ll have a chance for Saturday. We’ll take things day by day. I knew I had to come off [against Stoke]. I know when I can play. We have many games coming up so I couldn’t afford to stay on and lose three weeks rather than seven days."
The clash with Barcelona on Tuesday is the crucial meeting for Fabregas, who left the club for Arsenal seven years ago. He has never played in the Nou Camp and is anxious to lead the Gunners as they try to protect their lead from the previous game. The match is also significant in terms of reaching the last eight of the Champions League.
Despite the disappointment of losing to Birmingham, the Arsenal team’s manager praised the response of his team after their win over Leyton Orient in the fifth round replay of the FA Cup. The win has set up a quarter final match with Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The Arsenal manager has also highlighted that the games coming up are crucial for the team and they cannot afford to take them lightly. Talking about the importance of his side's remaining games he said, "It will be only Cup games for the rest of the season. It is like that now because every game you say that is the game you cannot afford to drop points in."
Arsenal have a game with Sunderland this Saturday and then have a clash with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Barcelona-c38605 next Tuesday, and yet another crucial match after that with rivals Manchester United.
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