Now that it's all confirmed that we have indeed signed ol' celery, curious to see how the forum members rate him versus the other options that were on the table. My first choice would have been Koke (a lot of paper talk saying he was Mourinho's first choice as well) but I don't think he's worth the €60M that Atletico are asking. Same story for Pogba and Vidal. And let's be honest, we don't seem to have much luck with buying players over £30M!

Personally I think â‚¬27M for Fabregas is a decent spend on someone who's proven himself at a high level, and may have been the best pick from a business point of view. If I'm honest I would have rather we went for Rakitic, who's a year younger, in better form and may have worked out cheaper. 

Who would you have gone for and why?

 

Edited June 12, 201412 yr by Lang7

Getting one of the best midfielders in the world for 27m is a bloody great deal.

 

Rakitic has had one, perhaps one and a half good season. I'm convinced that anyone preferring him to Fabregas is simply buying into the hype, there's nothing he's better than Fabregas at.

 

There have been plently of Koke's in the past, I'll like to see him keep it up for a few more seasons before we start talking about him.

I said in another thread imho, best Midfielder we bought since Ballack...

He counts as home grown AFAIK so thats a huge plus that other options dont have.

Yes I do think we got the best deal

Edited June 12, 201412 yr by Bobbywoodhogan

Yes.......close thread ;-)

Considering the money spent, the player's age and ability, this is an amazing deal for us. Now, if we could sell Rambo to Madrid for lots of money, add a bit and buy Vidal, we'd have a midfield to behold.

Getting one of the best midfielders in the world for 27m is a bloody great deal.

Rakitic has had one, perhaps one and a half good season. I'm convinced that anyone preferring him to Fabregas is simply buying into the hype, there's nothing he's better than Fabregas at.

There have been plently of Koke's in the past, I'll like to see him keep it up for a few more seasons before we start talking about him.

Are you sure he is one of the best there is? I'm not. Maybe he doesn't fit Barca's system and not the best choice for Spain but he isn't an automatic starter for them so there must be 2 or 3 ahead of him even in Barca.

Don't get me wrong he is a quality player but one of the best in the world is a stretch for me anyway.

Fabregas is ours - so it's the best deal, but I'm cautious I want to see him in central midfield next to Matic before making any conclusion. 

 

I'm cautiously optimistic and excited for next season. 

Like taking candy off a baby!

 

What a steal!

Fabregas is just a fabulous Midfielder, he certainly has nothing to prove at Chelsea, just his A game will suffice for us...

Lets not forget hes homegrown as well which given our lack of homegrown players, its a crucial signing for us.

Not often you can get a home grown, world class midfielder for £27m.

Edited June 12, 201412 yr by JM7

Beat me to it.

I did run that past a few Gooners before they spontaneously combusted then vaporised.

from tonight's game, I do like the look of rakitic although it was highlighted before the match by the pundits (admittedly c**ts) that he lacks defensive discipline and he has indeed been caught out a few times already. 40 minutes of football is no fair measure to judge his game on though so to be totally honest im in the dark over him.

fabregas is an excellent acquisition when you consider that pot of manc filth offered £40m odds last summer and got told to get to f**k.

mouth watering midfield next season. matic fabregas willian/schurrle oscar hazard. madness.

also good to see oscar looking sharp tonight. lad's form dipped a bit in the latter stages of the season but tonight he looks back to his best.

all things looking rosey for us blues. lets enjoy it!!

Yes we did.  Celery dodging wee f**ker, but he's ours now.  only 27 is so hard to fathom.  And yes he counts as homegrown.  So when you see other homegrown targets like Shaw being tagged at $30 Million after a good season or two, this is a fantastic deal.

from tonight's game, I do like the look of rakitic although it was highlighted before the match by the pundits (admittedly c**ts) that he lacks defensive discipline and he has indeed been caught out a few times already. 40 minutes of football is no fair measure to judge his game on though so to be totally honest im in the dark over him.

He was pretty much the main reason for Sevilla doing so well last year. Great driving midfielder who transitions from attack to defence very quickly. Yes he does have some defensive frailties but when you pair him with someone like Matic I think you'd have had a sweet balance. Fabregas at his best is capable of a similar influence so fingers crossed.

On another note, Fabregas is actually really effective played as a number 10, and has the third highest assists tally in Spain since he moved to Barca. Not like we're short in that department but if Oscar does suffer a dip again I'm sure Fabregas would do well. That said, Oscar was phenomenal tonight and was easily MOTM. Let's hope he can come back and do similar for us!

He counts as home grown AFAIK so thats a huge plus that other options dont have.

 

Pogba counts as HG as well

 

Im divided between fabregas and pogba

Of course we did. Not only do we get a great midfielder to help tear up the league, we got to make Gooners spontaneously combust at the same time. I'd say we got a bargain.

Should of bought Fellaini for the same price. :v

Pogba counts as HG as well

 

Im divided between fabregas and pogba

A 3 of them with Matic would be pretty good, but rather unlikely. Though a few weeks back most of us would have thought the chance of Cesc signing for us was unlikely. Maybe Jose has another ace up his sleeve. 

A once not so like likable face is now likable,

Pogba counts as HG as well

 

Im divided between fabregas and pogba

 

True, But I suppose pogba would cost alot more than 27

I say this was a very good deal, assuming he works well for us on the pitch. On paper though, this was a fantastic piece of business and should improve our squad. Plus, he is considered as homegrown which is a huge plus.

 

Well done by our front office.

Ah Jim, I'll miss your old avatar.