Fabregas Stays: Some Relief, Little Joy

So it seems what is effectively a season long loan deal has been secured and Arsenal will have a leader for the season ahead.

On the surface, it's good news. More so because of the doomsday scenario we would face without him. The rest of the Arsenal team is not particularly good, and without Fabregas, Champions League qualification would look, to me, a huge ask.

It still does look a difficult task, because as it stands, this summer is a repeat of recent summers, with chronic problems ignored. That is why I get little joy out of hearing Fabregas is staying. It's sad, because he's the best player I've seen in an Arsenal shirt, but he deserves better than to play for the current Arsenal team. As ever, I hope I'm wrong, but I can't really see him getting a send-off to remember in the shape of some silverware.

We all know that, ultimately, the problem with a prospective deal was Barca's lack of funds. The kid wants to go, Barca want him badly, and if a figure upwards of 50million was involved, Arsenal would probably be singing a different tune too.

In a way, I wouldn't have minded that scenario so much. At least with a whopping big fee, Arsenal would have a chance to sign some players good enough to improve a young but already stale-looking team. Then again, would Arsene Wenger invest the money in the right way? I guess we are going to find out next summer, but more money spent on youth and potential will hardly be a clever answer. And will Wenger even stay on beyond this season?? So many questions.

The start of the season is just over a week away.