Disappointed Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has reluctantly conceded that injury will rule him out of Sunday’s League Cup final against Birmingham City.<\/p>\n
The Catalan playmaker has had to accept his fate despite earlier insisting that he would wait until the last possible moment before deciding whether or not he was fit enough to play in the season’s first domestic final.<\/p>\n
His manager Arsene Wenger, though, was always more pessimistic, concluding in midweek that the hamstring twinge Fabregas felt during Tuesday’s 1-0 victory over Stoke City was severe enough to prevent his skipper leading out the team for the Wembley showpiece.<\/p>\n
Admitting that his dream was over, a dejected Fabregas wrote in his column in The Sun: “It’s hugely disappointing. Maybe my heart was ruling my head when I felt I might play. Now, reluctantly, I must accept I cannot.<\/p>\n
“Even on Friday morning I had hoped to be involved, even if it was on the bench.<\/p>\n
“But the boss, Arsene Wenger, is right and the most important thing is to make sure I get fit as quickly as possible to help Arsenal for the rest of the season.”<\/p>\n
Wenger explained on Arsenal’s official website why he was not prepared to gamble with his captain’s fitness.<\/p>\n
“Would I play him [even] if it was the last game of the season? I don’t think so, I don’t think so,” said the Frenchman.<\/p>\n
“The problem is you’re asking me whether he could play with the injury he has. Certainly not at 100 per cent. And he could make the damage much worse and be out for three, four, five weeks maybe.<\/p>\n
“He’s disappointed, but his disappointment is diminished by the fact that we have other main targets after this game. Like the championship, the Champions League, the FA Cup.<\/p>\n
“If he was playing, he could damage his participation in all the other targets after that. Of course, he accepts it with disappointment, but our job isn’t just about good things. It’s also about disappointments.”<\/p>\n
Fabregas has waited a long time to lead his team out at Wembley but cruelly must now watch from the stands as Robin van Persie wears the armband. However, he has not given up hope of a Wembley appearance for the Gunners towards the end of the current campaign.<\/p>\n
“Let’s hope Arsenal could also be playing in the FA Cup and Champions League finals at Wembley. It could be a once-in-a-lifetime season,” Fabregas added in The Sun.<\/p>\n
“So while it is agonizing I can’t be with the lads on the pitch on Sunday, I’ll be working hard to ensure I am part of the whole adventure.”<\/p>\n
Although the League Cup has sometimes been regarded as a low priority for the leading Premier League clubs, Fabregas stressed how seriously Arsenal are taking the final.<\/p>\n
“Tomorrow’s Carling Cup final is going to be such an important game in terms of the whole squad’s confidence for the rest of the season.<\/p>\n
“We are still involved heavily in the race for four major trophies.<\/p>\n
“I am obviously disappointed to be missing tomorrow’s game – but even though I won’t be on the pitch I will be kicking every ball from the stands.<\/p>\n
“It was touching for our keeper Wojciech Szczesny to say he would like me to lift the trophy if we win.<\/p>\n
“The boss has also said the boys should go out and win the cup for me because I cannot play. That shows the spirit we have at Arsenal in the dressing room.<\/p>\n
“But really, I would like them all to go out and win the Carling Cup for the club and for the supporters. They are the ones who have stuck by us and waited a long time for the chance to win a trophy.<\/p>\n
“The Arsenal fans still sing for us and travel to games in great numbers wherever we play to give us the backing that can turn a draw into victory. They don’t care who the opposition is, they support us all the time and so for them it would be really magical to see Robin van Persie lift the Carling Cup.<\/p>\n
“Like the fans, Arsene Wenger treats every game the same whether we are playing Birmingham or Barcelona. And I really hope to be fit for the second one!”<\/p>\n
Fabregas also revealed that even if the Gunners triumph at Wembley, their crowded fixture list means they will not be able to celebrate.<\/p>\n
“The games are coming so fast at the moment – almost every three days, which means hardly any time to relax or to see our friends and families. We are spending a lot of time in hotels. After tomorrow we play Leyton Orient in the FA Cup and then Barcelona next week.<\/p>\n
“It means even if we beat Birmingham there is no time to celebrate. If the boss orders training on Monday, so be it.<\/p>\n
“Now is not the time to party or to be tired. There will hopefully be plenty of time to celebrate in the summer – for now we have to stay completely focused.<\/p>\n
“Nothing has been won yet and nothing has been achieved. And that is why the boss’ plan to stick to the same routine regardless is the best thing possible for our preparation.<\/p>\n
“He doesn’t put pressure on young players who have come into the first team, that’s what we like. He just wants us to play the way we are used to and that is very good for the team as a unit.<\/p>\n
“A final is a special day but you just have to be focused to give 100 per cent. I am sure the boss will find a way to make everything work.<\/p>\n
“When you step out on the pitch you forget about it being a final. And you either want to win that final or get three points – it’s exactly the same.<\/p>\n
“I don’t like to get too far ahead. We are doing well in the Premier League, have a replay in the FA Cup and a Champions League second leg at Barcelona.<\/p>\n
“There’s still a long way to go and we have to just think about this next game which will be very difficult because Birmingham are playing very well.<\/p>\n
“This is the first step along the way for this team – hopefully it will be the first trophy and that will make it a big step. But it is still one step at a time.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
See the original post:
\nCesc Fabregas Accepts He Must Sit Out League Cup Final<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Disappointed Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has reluctantly conceded that injury will rule him out of Sunday’s League Cup final against Birmingham City. The Catalan playmaker has had to accept his fate despite earlier insisting that he would wait until the last possible moment before deciding whether or not he was fit enough to play in the season’s first domestic final. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-282815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n
Cesc Fabregas Accepts He Must Sit Out League Cup Final - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/02\/26\/cesc-fabregas-accepts-he-must-sit-out-league-cup-final\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Cesc Fabregas Accepts He Must Sit Out League Cup Final - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Disappointed Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has reluctantly conceded that injury will rule him out of Sunday's League Cup final against Birmingham City. The Catalan playmaker has had to accept his fate despite earlier insisting that he would wait until the last possible moment before deciding whether or not he was fit enough to play in the season's first domestic final.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/02\/26\/cesc-fabregas-accepts-he-must-sit-out-league-cup-final\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/02\/26\/cesc-fabregas-accepts-he-must-sit-out-league-cup-final\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Cesc Fabregas Accepts He Must Sit Out League Cup Final\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-02-26T19:15:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/02\/26\/cesc-fabregas-accepts-he-must-sit-out-league-cup-final\/\"},\"wordCount\":1120,\"commentCount\":0,\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/02\/26\/cesc-fabregas-accepts-he-must-sit-out-league-cup-final\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/02\/26\/cesc-fabregas-accepts-he-must-sit-out-league-cup-final\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/02\/26\/cesc-fabregas-accepts-he-must-sit-out-league-cup-final\/\",\"name\":\"Cesc Fabregas Accepts He Must Sit Out League Cup Final - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-02-26T19:15:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/02\/26\/cesc-fabregas-accepts-he-must-sit-out-league-cup-final\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Cesc Fabregas Accepts He Must Sit Out League Cup Final - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/02\/26\/cesc-fabregas-accepts-he-must-sit-out-league-cup-final\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Cesc Fabregas Accepts He Must Sit Out League Cup Final - Ghanamma.com","twitter_description":"Disappointed Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has reluctantly conceded that injury will rule him out of Sunday's League Cup final against Birmingham City. The Catalan playmaker has had to accept his fate despite earlier insisting that he would wait until the last possible moment before deciding whether or not he was fit enough to play in the season's first domestic final.","twitter_creator":"@ghanamma","twitter_site":"@ghanamma","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/02\/26\/cesc-fabregas-accepts-he-must-sit-out-league-cup-final\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/02\/26\/cesc-fabregas-accepts-he-must-sit-out-league-cup-final\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Cesc Fabregas Accepts He Must Sit Out League Cup Final","datePublished":"2011-02-26T19:15:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/02\/26\/cesc-fabregas-accepts-he-must-sit-out-league-cup-final\/"},"wordCount":1120,"commentCount":0,"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/02\/26\/cesc-fabregas-accepts-he-must-sit-out-league-cup-final\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/02\/26\/cesc-fabregas-accepts-he-must-sit-out-league-cup-final\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/02\/26\/cesc-fabregas-accepts-he-must-sit-out-league-cup-final\/","name":"Cesc Fabregas Accepts He Must Sit Out League Cup Final - Ghanamma.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-02-26T19:15:31+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/02\/26\/cesc-fabregas-accepts-he-must-sit-out-league-cup-final\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/","name":"Ghanamma.com","description":"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282815\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}