Arsenal's Dark Knight; Cesc Fabregas Serves as Arsenal's Vigilante

Lately, Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas has been the subject of many verbal attacks.

First, he was called out by his teammate Denilson for his lack of leadership skills, who later stressed that he was merely misquoted. Then David Moyes accused Fabregas of berating Lee Mason at halftime in the tunnel leading to the locker room.

Ever since, Fabregas's creditability and leadership abilities have been put under the microscope.

In a recent ESPN article, Fabregas was tagged as "childish," "immature," and lacking the class of others in his position. Numerous articles, such as one in the Mirror suggested that Fabregas has lost his effect on Arsenal and is counting the hours until his departure to Barcelona.

The criticism, to some, is just. To others, it is sickening. For Arsenal, it is necessary.

Fabregas, at times, may be acting childish, speaking out when he shouldn't, and showing signs of his young age.

However, Fabregas is doing what is necessary, even though no one wants to admit it.

He is standing up to the rough play of the Premier League, putting pressure on officials and refusing to lose.

Over the past few seasons, Arsenal have been tagged as "boys" and were considered talented but lacked the steel to compete for the English Premier League Title.

This season, Arsenal has racked up 41 yellow cards, only Manchester City and Wigan Athletic have had more. They have received five red cards, only Manchester City can equal that total.

Arsenal are adding steel.

Fabregas, quickly becoming tagged as a "bad boy," is leading this revolt. He is doing what is needed of him and protecting his teammates while refusing to lose.

His actions are similar to those exemplified by Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane during the early 2000s. Keane and Vieira were notorious for their brash tackles and letting their emotions boil over to the officials. Yet, both were considered great captains and fantastic players.

Fabregas is putting referees in a pressured situation. He is no longer a silent boy. He is becoming an assertive, aggressive captain, and a good one.

Fabregas is making sure referees are 100 percent sure before they blow their whistle. The linesmen who improperly judged Saha onside at the Emirates, will probably give the benefit to Arsenal next time that situation arises, because he was wrong and Fabregas made sure he knew he knew was wrong.

He is doing what every captain does, making himself heard and letting the referee know that Arsenal will not let things go easily, and those comments and actions affect the referee.

Like it or not players' actions and comments have a big impact on the referees, even more so when they are a part of the "Big Four" in the Premier League.

You can look at United’s stoppage time record if you do not believe me. When United is winning, they are average 187.71 seconds of stoppage time, but when they are losing the average is 258.6 seconds of stoppage time. (You should remember this from the Manchester derby in the 2009/2010 season).

Others claim his moaning to referees and frustration is because Arsenal would not allow him to leave for Barcelona. However, it is his passion. He has been the center of Arsenal for three years now and has nothing to show for it.

Everyone knows he is going to Barcelona eventually, but that does not mean he does not love Arsenal. He wants to win trophies here. He wants to repay the fan's faith and support. His "moaning" and "frustrations" are his passion getting the better of him.

He is a competitor. He is tired of not winning. He is using this fire to rally his troops, and it is working. Yes, Arsenal have been dismal at times this seasons—letting a four-goal lead plunder to Carroll-less Newcastle—but they are four points behind Manchester United who lead the league.

Fabregas's actions are not always popular or just. At times, they overshadow his raw ability, but his actions are necessary, whether we admit it or not.

His abilities as a leader are right up there with the best of them. He is 23 and the captain of a team in the running for the Premier League, League Cup, FA Cup and Champions League trophies.

So endure Fabregas, because you are the hero Arsenal deserves but not the one it needs right now.