Out Of Line: Cesc Fabregas Is Under Contract, Barcelona's Players Must Shut Up

It's Sunday night and I'm only getting around to my blog now after a very late night last night, and a nice lie in this morning/afternoon.

When I eventually got up, I went to Bray with my wife and we walked the seafront promenade before getting fish and chips to eat. It was a lovely evening despite the strong winds, and the seaside air cleared my head.

With Spain just about making their way into the World Cup semifinals last night, we were treated to a few words of wisdom from Barcelona and Spain centre back Gerard Pique. He claims that the World Cup is not a good thing for Arsenal, as Cesc is spending every day with him and various other Barcelona pieces of pond scum, and that Cesc has made his feelings very clear to them. 

According to Pique, Cesc is "keeping his mind focused on Spain, but his heart is in Barcelona. I think already in his heart he is wearing a Barcelona shirt next season."

Well I think Pique can keep his opinions on players with five years left on their contract to himself, and Cesc is more than capable of speaking on his own behalf.

Is it just a coincidence that the Barcelona players on the Spanish squad are taking turns in telling the media about how they want Cesc to join them at their club?

I doubt it very much, and it's more than likely just another part of their club's coordinated effort to unsettle Cesc and force Arsenal into selling him, or to force Cesc into asking for a transfer.

Arsenal will not be bullied by Barcelona, and all the cards are in our hand as Cesc has five years left on his contract. He is our club captain and star player and we don't want or need to sell him. Let their players open their fat gobs as much as they like, but it will not make a single bit of difference to Arsenal's decision to keep Cesc at the club.

With the way the World Cup panned out for England, I was delighted that Walcott was left out of their squad, even if I was a little surprised. It would appear that Argentina's Lionel Messi was also surprised. He thinks Theo is an excellent player and that Barcelona were scared of him when we played them last season.

He believes Theo could have been an excellent impact sub for England at the World Cup and that he is a big game player whose best asset is his pace.

We are again linked with Per Mertesacker of Werder Bremen and Germany as our search for a centre half of quality continues. I think he would be ideally suited to the Premier league, and a player of his height and ability in the air would certainly help to take the pressure off our goalkeepers at set pieces. He is also a very good tackler, although it has been said that he is a little slow to turn at times.

Speaking of Germany, their performance against Argentina was very good yesterday and they were well worth their 4-0 victory. It makes England's 4-1 defeat to them look just a little better and I'm sure Spain will be very wary of them in the semifinal. Argentina were very poor at the back, but Germany have definitely been the best team at the World Cup so far, and they have managed it while also playing entertaining football.

Besides Mertesacker, I wouldn't mind seeing Arsenal sign Ozil, Friedrich, or Schweinsteiger. They have all impressed me very much. I think Germany should be very happy that Kevin Prince Boateng injured Ballack in the FA Cup final. I don't think they would be as good with him on the team. Arsenal could do with some of the mettle shown by the Germans while still playing good football.

In the other game, Spain just about overcame a very strong, defensive Paraguay team. It wasn't until Cesc came on for Torres that Spain looked ready to win. There was plenty of drama in the game, with Paraguay's disallowed goal and both teams missing a penalty as well.

Even when Spain managed to score, the ball hit the post three times before it went in to put them through to the semifinal. There's a possibility that the two Arsenal players left will meet in the final. But even if Spain get there, they are unlikely to start Cesc. That's it for today. 

See You Tomorrow.