Cesc Fabregas: 3 Reasons to Leave Arsenal and Join Milan over Barcelona, for Now

I know most people are going to call me crazy, but I will give this disclaimer:

I do believe that more likely than not, Cesc Fabregas will be playing for Barcelona this season.

That said, I do not agree that it is what is best for the 24-year-old Spaniard at the moment.

It is no surprise to anyone by now that the Arsenal captain is likely on his way out of the Emirates Stadium this summer. Fabregas has long been linked with a move back to his hometown and childhood club Barcelona, the club he joined at 10 and left at 16.

Barcelona had a bid rejected last summer and are in a stalemate with Barcelona at the moment.

Recently, AC Milan have come flying into the conversation as an alternative to Barcelona and have apparently exceeded Arsenal's asking price, something Barcelona have yet to do, according to the Daily Star. However, Adriano Galliani continues to play his games, as he denies that Fabregas is a target, though many believe he has been chosen over Bayern Munich's Bastian Schweinsteiger as Milan's so called Mr. X.

Many are saying Milan has zero chance of getting Fabregas, but I think that he will look at his options and if Barcelona do not meet the asking price of Arsenal, which it seems hard to believe that either side will budge right now, Milan could end up being the winners in this game.

These are reasons for Fabregas to leave Arsenal and why Milan is a better choice than Barcelona at the moment.

I think Fabregas will eventually join Barcelona and rightfully so, but Milan makes sense right now.

3) Arsenal Are Unlikely to Win Anything Anytime Soon

Arsenal have a good team, but the odds of them winning anything anytime soon are slim.

Arsene Wegner continues to fill the team with youth as he always does (there are only four players over 30 and the average age is around 24). Despite a great signing in Gervinho, there has been no additions to a team that definitely needs to build.

Arsenal were fourth last season, qualifying for the Play-off Round of the UEFA Champions League and lost to Birmingham in the Carling Cup Final. This is a team that struggled at times last year and they definitely need help to improve this season. They have some work ahead of them just to qualify for the Group Stage of the Champions League and in England, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Manchester City ready to all but lock up the top three this season and with Liverpool improving greatly this offseason, they need a miracle to expect a trophy of any kind soon.

Fabregas has been with Arsenal since 2003 and what has he won? Two trophies: the FA Community Shield and the FA Cup.

Fabregas is one of the best midfielders in the world and should has given eight incredible years to Arsenal. Why sit around waiting for a trophy he may never win?

2) AC Milan Provide Immediate Trophy Opportunities

AC Milan ended their long (by Milan standards) trophy drought this season by winning Serie A by six points over Inter Milan.

For the Rossoneri, it was the first Scudetto since 2004 and their first trophy since winning the FIFA Club World Cup in 2007.

Adriano Galliani has done a great job bringing in talent this offseason, most notably on defense with Philippe Mexes and Taye Taiwo.

Milan are once again widely regarded as a favorite to win the Scudetto, with Napoli and Inter considered their toughest opponents.

The club are also confident of their potential in the Champions League as well. Clarence Seedorf recently said that even without a new signing the rest of the summer, Milan could definitely beat favorites Barcelona.

There are a lot of expectations and there is a lot of belief that Milan can win at least one competition this season and not just from Milan fans but from the rest of the world of football as well. Arsenal, on the other hand, do not have many expectations outside the club's supporters.

Obviously, Barcelona are favorites for all competitions that they will be playing in: La Liga, Copa del Rey, the FIFA Club World Cup, and the Champions League, but he would likely be a substitute on the team. More on that now.

1) Starter at Milan, Bench at Barcelona

Barcelona are the greatest team in the world. They are early favorites to be the first repeat winner in the era of the UEFA Champions League. The last time there was a repeat winner was Milan in the 1989 and 1990 European Cup (the previous format of UEFA's top club competition) Finals.

Not only do they have the greatest team and arguably the greatest starting XI of all time, they have they greatest midfield duo in the world in Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta.

Both Xavi, 31, and Iniesta, 27, were among the three finalists for the FIFA Ballon d'Or last season, losing out to teammate Lionel Messi.

Neither shows signs of slowing down this season and it is likely that Xavi will be a finalist for the Ballon d'Or again this year.

With Barcelona's 4-3-3 formation, Xavi and Iniesta play behind Messi with Sergio Busquets behind them. Barcelona have quality bench players in Seydou Keita, Ibrahim Affelay, and Alexander Hleb. This is also expected to be the breakout season of 20-year-old midfielder Thiago Alcantara, who is expected to be a full member of the senior team this year.

Fabregas is certainly better than these four players, but he is in or just heading into the prime of his career. He is not a player to be sitting on the bench behind Xavi and Iniesta for the next couple seasons. It would make it difficult to also find time in the Spanish National Team setup.

At AC Milan, he is a starter from day one. With the possible arrival of Riccardo Montolivo, Milan could have their own lethal midfield duo. With a diamond midfield of Mark Van Bommel, Cesc Fabregas, Riccardo Montolivo, and Kevin-Prince Boateng, Milan could definitely challenge Barcelona for the Champions League title. This is something Fabregas should consider.

Does he want to sit on the bench at Barcelona, playing irregular minutes for a player of his caliber, or does he want to play a key role in Milan's attempt at trophies and then move to Barcelona later in his career and finish his career with the club he started for?

Conclusion

At this point in his career, it is probably best for his career that Cesc Fabregas join AC Milan as opposed to Barcelona. He may be an eight-year veteran on the professional level with a world-class club like Arsenal, but he is still only 24, meaning he probably has another 10 or so years left in his career.

He can play at Milan as a regular starter on a team that can contend in both Italy and Europe for the next couple seasons while Xavi still shines at Barcelona before making the long-anticipated and high profile move.

I, like many, believe that push come to shove, we will be seeing Fabregas in the blue and claret this season. That said, that would require Barcelona giving in and paying the extra money to get him from Arsenal.

Milan are willing to pay and provide him an excellent opportunity to continue his run as one of the world's best midfielders while he would be a reserve at Barcelona and have the ability giving him a chance at titles, which he would not have at Arsenal and again, while he would have that chance at Barcelona, he would be on the field far less often.

What do you think is the best option for Fabregas? Arsenal, Barcelona or Milan, comment with feedback.