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Cesc Fabregas
Unbroken spirit: Cesc Fabregas

Bad break won't stop Fabregas playing on

Andrew Hodgson, Sports Correspondent
17 Oct 2008


Cesc Fabregas today vowed to battle on and give his all for Arsenal despite sustaining a broken nose in midweek while playing for Spain.

Fabregas was back training at London Colney yesterday ahead of tomorrow's match with Everton after being injured in Spain's 27th match without defeat a 2-1 victory over Belgium in Brussels.

It is good news for manager Arsene Wenger who will definitely be without William Gallas (hamstring), Nicklas Bendtner (ankle) and William Sagna (knee) and has doubts over Robin van Persie (thigh) and Johan Djourou (concussion) following this week's World Cup qualifiers.

"The nose is fractured but it was worth it for three points [for Spain]," said Fabregas.

"I chucked myself at the ball to try and score and I've no idea if I caught a flailing punch or it was a Belgian knee which got me in the face but it was such a fierce blow that I spent two or three minutes not sure of what was going on or where I was.

"It's fractured but, at the moment, I don't think that the bone is out of line so it shouldn't need to be reset and I really hope that I don't need any operations and can play on."

Despite revealing earlier this month that he may consider his future if Arsenal fail to win any trophies at the end of the season, Fabregas also insisted that he will continue to give his all for Wenger broken bones or not.

"I'm not the kind of guy to make a decision to stay and then start crying about how much I want to leave all of a sudden," he added.

"Arsenal have given me everything since I was 16 and I'd never announce that I'm itching to get back to Spain out of respect to the fans, the club and my team mates for a start.

"It was an eye-opener to me in the summer when I discovered that it was possible to arrive at a big final [Euro 2008], win it and enjoy the whole experience massively.

"That brought me loads of extra confidence and, frankly, makes me all the more hungry to repeat the process."

Fabregas accepts that he may one day play in La Liga but, for now, he believes in Wenger's youth policy and is critical of billionaire owners who treat clubs like 'toys'.

He said: "My ego is totally under control despite the fact that I'm a champion of Europe with Spain - in fact although footballing life in England, thanks to Arsenal, makes me feel a far more important player than my time with the national team.

"I'm also aware that the key to understanding Arsene Wenger is that he has crystal clear ideas about what he wants.

"He doesn't just want to go and spend money - I don't think there's another coach like him anywhere in the world. His philosophy remains to show faith in the young talents.

"He knows full well that were Arsenal to go out and succeed in buying, say, Cristiano Ronaldo then how would you ever discover the extent to which Theo Walcott can reach his full potential?

"It's good, too, that Arsenal is not one of those clubs owned by a 'magnate'. It seems to me that for mega-rich guys like that buying football clubs is like a 'hobby'. Effectively it's like collecting another toy and if you go off it one month then you just change it".

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