FABREGAS AT CHELSEA: "I know that the Arsenal fans will understand"

As soon as the paperwork was signed and Cesc Fabregas became a Chelsea player, you thought to yourselves I wonder what he and the Arsenal fans would feel when he steps out at the Emirates in Chelsea blue?

Speaking whilst being away on international duty with Spain, Fabregas has given an insight to those feelings, his time at Barcelona and the decision to come to Chelsea. He said:

“If you'd told me five years ago that I would play for Chelsea and Mourinho I would not have believed you, but life changes.

I will always feel a Gunner and I know that I am going to return to [the Emirates Stadium] and I feel that it will be a special moment but I am committed.

Remember that I played a Champions League final against Barcelona! I swear to you that I would have done anything to win that game even though I’d been Barcelona since I was a kid!

So you know that when I play against Arsenal I will know who I am playing with, who my teammates are and who I will defend and I know that the Arsenal fans will understand; I have no doubt.

I started to think about [leaving Barca] after the Copa del Rey final. It was when I started to think that it had finished, that there was a change or that I didn’t want to continue.

I told the club the week after losing the title, from London, in the week off before the World Cup. I called Zubizarreta – and, from the response, I felt that I had done them a favour, that it was good for them and for me.

There were good and bad games, I know that, but no, I never felt badly treated. I don’t have any complaints for anybody. I prefer to only look at myself, knowing that I have done badly and have done well, and I take friends, experiences and great memories from Barcelona.

I can’t be more proud ... 150 games, 42 goals; I only take the good things from it. I could have been better but I could have been worse.

I realised a dream. I could not leave football without playing for Barcelona.

I spoke with my agent and told him to find me a team. Chelsea’s offer arrived and for me it was about returning to London, the place where I did best. There was no better exit. I spoke with Mourinho and he told me things that I needed to hear, I felt valued, felt that I was going to be part of something important."

As I keep being told by my Wife, Football fans can be a fickle bunch! One minute we love a player, they leave the club and when they return they are booed or given abuse from the stands.

On rare occasions, there are certain players that have given a real telling contribution to a club over a sustained period of time, have won games for you themselves and provided you with moments that you will never forget.

I have no issues at all with Cesc Fabregas saying that he will always be a Gunner because he has the above in his previous spell in London with Arsenal. It's just plain stupid and ignorant to expect him to talk badly of the club that made him.

However, I do understand that certain sections of the Emirates home support may not feel the same because he is now playing for Chelsea!

One thing is certain, despite how you feel about Fabregas and the decisions he made Arsenal fans, he is world class and I still cannot for the life of me understand how Arsene Wenger decided against re-signing him.

Fabregas is Blue!