The Spanish Acquisition	© Online Gooner Issue 148
Alicia Anderson on our teen sensation
When you see what Cesc Fabregas has done at only 17, it's mind blowing. These youngsters fear nothing; they are really impressive. I didn't do half what they do at their age. That's a quote from Robert Pires. I think we'd all agree that the spotlight waited far too long for the curtain up on a certain midfield media showdown. The stage was set, the house was full, and the drums were rolling, but the Diva responsible for getting us all overwrought was too preoccupied with the choice of song. Enter then a rather strange looking teenage understudy with straggly hair and a worrying absence of age. In this particular instance it was someone I had seen perform only twice before. The first time was the third round of the Carling Cup, or 'The Worthless Cup', or 'The Kids' Cup' as it finally came to be referred to (Francesc Fabregas came on as a second sub); the second time was the fourth round of the same competition where he scored one of the five Arsenal goals of the evening. There's something special about evening games in the heart of winter, and it's not all down to the floodlights. The season's picking up its pace, four competitions are alive and kicking, there's a hubbub of red and white outside every local pub, the hot dogs and burgers smell as though they could be delicious and we all believe that anything could happen. 'We're gonnow beat yaow' said someone to the crowd on the pavement from the window of a large white van with an orange flag on it. Obviously the Champions League results take more than a week to reach the West Midlands. It would have greater significance now, but at the time, the Francesc Fabregas goal in the 88th minute of the game was more of a final inspiration for the fans to start up one the best chants of the year: 'Are you Inter in disguise?' Beneath the noise of the celebrations, and the fulfilment of watching our young players' enthusiasm and commitment, Arsenal meanwhile had broken yet another of their own records - namely that Fabregas, at 16 years and 212 days was in fact the Gunners' youngest goal scorer ever. To the fans at least, the Community Shield is a game of similar lack of pressure. We love to win it for the pride of getting one over the Mancs, but few would be gutted if we had drawn or lost. For Francesc Fabregas however, it quite possibly represented the most significant moment in his football career to date because at still only 17 years and 96 days, he had to replace one of the most highly rated midfielders in the world. Yes we're talking about Patrick Vieira - our captain, World Cup winner and pulsating heart of the club - about whom newspaper coverage since the end of the season alone has used up enough paper to eliminate an entire forest. And if this isn't enough to get pretty awestruck about, consider the added complication of the leg breaking, kneecapping, stud-stamping, liver dancer, bouncing thug that is Roy Keane. Remember Vitor Baia? Well, for those of you who couldn't be arsed with the Mancs boring us all to death in the Champions League, he was Porto's most unlikely trampoline. With penetrating passing on a slippery rain drizzled pitch, Francesc Fabregas, clearly unafraid to get stuck in, did so with composure and sophistication well beyond the 'try it mate and I'll take you out for good' approach to football that Roy Keane has perfected over, oh 33 years and 363 days or so. Fabregas, (or Cesc as he prefers to be known) is an absolute pleasure to watch, particularly as he has all the qualities required to go right to the very top of the game. 'Ideally you would want to give him one more year,' said Arsene Wenger and, of course, nothing could be more true. As I write this, we are still in August and so far the games have been a late summer breeze, but to contemplate the grip of winter without the prospect of having someone with the stature and experience of Patrick Vieira is unrealistic. As Wenger himself said after playing Fabregas for another ninety minutes at Goodison Park: 'I am happy the experienced players stayed. Today it was easy, but when it is rainy, winter and night-time and the referee's decision goes against you, that is when you need experience.' It's interesting that we played Everton for the first game of the season because Moyes set a very good example with his careful treatment of Wayne Rooney - it's even possible that England would have had to do without its Euro 2004 star if his manager had given in to pressure. 'I remember David Moyes did not rush Rooney into every game and that will be our policy with Cesc,' said Wenger. 'He needs to be nurtured, not mentally because he is a humble person, but physically because he is still a boy in many ways.' Aliadiere, currently brittle after too many injuries, is a sad example of what can happen to a young player who isn't ready. It was just unlucky timing for him simply because we hadn't got Reyes there to bolster the depth of the squad - hopefully he'll have more chance to benefit this season, and we'll get to see some magic from him too. But with the likes of Kolo Toure, Reyes, Aliadiere, Clichy and Cesc everything looks extremely promising for the future. Surely this finally eliminates any lingering accusations about our inability to nurture young talent, the cherry on the cake being that Wenger seems to have mastered the art of identifying world class potential before Chelsea can get their hands on it. Small wonder that Barcelona fought so hard against letting such a player go. Barcelona complained that Arsenal acted improperly, taking advantage of a loophole in employment regulations to entice the youngster away. Unsurprisingly, Cesc was highly rated in the Barcelona youth academy from which he came, and was expected to sign a contract with the club, but under FIFA regulations, couldn't do so until he reached 18. To compound (and justify) their bitterness, he played for his country in the Under-18 World Cup, won the title of Player of the Tournament and also the Golden Boot. However, if it can be proved that his family resides in London (we can probably take a guess that they do now) it seems that the Spanish regulations cannot be enforced and a transfer to Arsenal is valid. There is a rumour of a clause in his contract that insists if he ever were to return to Spain, Barcelona would have to be his first choice of club. This sounds a bit weak, but if it's true it doesn't pose much of a threat to Arsenal. With the move to the new stadium now clearly visible on the Islington horizon, it's reassuring and exciting to have this kind of anticipation about some of the team who'll be making their hallmark on the opening seasons. It's certainly not hard to imagine that given time, Cesc will be commanding that midfield spotlight with an easy grace - he's got big talent, a big future and big hair.