What If Cesc Waves Goodbye In The Summer?

The rumour has gone on for ages now, many times has it been denied, but is it only a matter of time before Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas flies back to Spain?

Barcelona's interest in their former Academy player has never declined, and with a good offer, will it be too good for Arsenal and Fabregas to resist?

Nothing is certain before a deal is struck, but still, preparations have to be made as well. The old people in this side of the world once said "prepare an umbrella before it rains".

So if Fabregas leaves, how will it affect Arsenal and how are the Gunners going to cope with it?

Losing your best player is never good no matter how much you get in return (Manchester United's struggle initially in life after Cristiano Ronaldo is a good example), but Arsenal losing Cesc Fabregas may not be as bad as that.

That is due to the simple fact that there is already a bunch of current Arsenal players lining up to fill the void should they part with their skipper. Cesc Fabregas is currently making the centre attacking midfielder role his own at the Emirates and with superb passing ability, he has established himself as one of the best in that role. But, is it really difficult to replace him?

Tomas Rosicky, Czech skipper does that role for his national side, Samir Nasri had played (and excelled) in that position in Marseille, and Andrey Arshavin is also comfortable playing behind a lone striker—proven in Euro 2008 as he played behind Roman Pavyluchenko and propelled the Russians to the semi-final.

Not to mention that younger lads Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey will only get better and better in the future.

That means that the fee received for Fabregas can be used to strengthen other areas, possibly enough for two to three good starting eleven players.

A striker is what Arsenal need most at the moment. After the era of Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry, Arsenal have not found a prolific goalscorer.

Eduardo and Niklas Bendtner are players who could be reliable at times but they are not the strikers a big team would want as their main attacking weapon.

Robin van Persie might be the suitable candidate for the lone striking role, but he gets injured pretty often so another Persie-like striker is needed at Arsenal. Besides, van Persie could play on the flanks (which I think he is better off) and that would give Arsene Wenger additional attacking options if another proven goalscorer is signed.

Marouane Chamakh looks set to sign for the Gunners for a free transfer in the summer. Nothing can be said until he gets his fair share of time to prove himself at The Emirates.

Another position Wenger could invest on is the deep-lying playmaker role. Should either Rosicky, Nasri, or Arshavin plays in Fabregas' current role, Arsenal would still need 'the general' behind him, the man who would collect loose balls from the defensive midfielder and sends them to the offensive players.

There aren't many good ones out there. As mentioned in my earlier post, the good ones are already playing in big clubs so it won't be easy to tempt them away. Xabi Alonso, Andrea Pirlo, Wesley Sneijder, and Xavi are the only ones I could think of. However, players like Joao Moutinho and Mark Noble are worth considering as well.

Another position in the starting line-up worth spending cash on is the goalkeeper. Manuel Almunia has done a respectable job at Arsenal but still I think they need a new, better one. There is nothing wrong to continue relying on the Spaniard but he is already ending his peak, so it's only a matter of time before Wenger considers another goalkeeper.

Since there aren't many positions Wenger could spend on, splashing a part from Fabregas' sale for Rene Adler, Manuel Neuer, Sergio Asenjo, or Robert Green may not be a bad idea.

Basically, Fabregas possible departure will hurt Arsenal a little but it shouldn't be a major problem if the money from his sale is spent wisely. In fact, the move could actually benefit Arsenal.

Original article in Four Five One.