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26
Apr 13
BENCH IS FINE
Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas has said that he does not mind being on the bench if he is going to be replaced by Lionel Messi. Barcelona will be having a crucial match on Tuesday night against Bayern Munich in the semifinals of the Champions League. In view of this match, Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova arrested a number of key players during the weekend. Fabregas has been one of the best players for Barcelona over the last few weeks, but he is expected to be dropped for the match against Bayern Munich.
The former Arsenal captain has expressed his frustration about being on the sidelines more often than not, but he has said that he will be happy to give way for Messi alone. The Argentine star has been suffering from a hamstring injury in the last few weeks. Yet, he has played an influential role in getting Barcelona to the semi-final stage of the competition. Barcelona looked devoid of ideas and lacking inspiration in the first half against PSG. However, Messi’s introduction of the second half proved to be the difference, as Barcelona managed to make it into the semifinals after the 1-1 draw.
The 25-year-old former Arsenal midfielder has made just 27 appearances, but he has scored 10 goals. “Lionel is ready to play in Munich. He is the most important player of the team. We feel safer with him, as was shown against PSG. Leo offers us things no other player does. If I drop out because of Leo I would accept this because he is so important. I have played as a false nine four or five times but I feel more comfortable playing as an inside left. I accept I am not yet a leader in the way I was at Arsenal,” said Fabregas ahead of the first leg semifinals.
22
Feb 13
CESC BACKS MESSI
Lionel Messi is regarded as one of the best players in the world. He has been an inspiration to many of the players growing up in recent years. The Newcastle United midfielder Ben Arfa reckons that he could have been as good as Lionel Messi had he matured a little earlier. The 25-year-old recently moved to Newcastle after a lot of troubles in the French league. He was expected to be a gamble by the Newcastle United fans, but it has been a gamble that has paid off in recent times. The Frenchman has been one of the best players for Newcastle over the last two years.
Ben Arfa was spoken of by the media even before he started playing regular first-team football. He was even compared with the French legend Zidane. This coupled with a number of off the field incidents put a bad boy image on the player, and he never recovered from that before moving to Newcastle. He has now said that he would have been playing at an even higher level had he matured a little earlier, but he does not regret for the time lost because he still believes that he can make it up. His spectacular goals and recent form has even made him being linked with Chelsea over the last few months.
“I regret not being mature earlier, because I think that today I would be playing at a higher level. Perhaps I would be like [Messi] today. But I’ve still got time, I can catch him up. In my head, I’ve still got the 2014 World Cup. For me, it’s impossible I don’t play in it. The current generation has a lot of talented players. But I think they lack leaders,” said Ben Arfa. The player is expected to be part of the French squad for the 2014 World Cup.