Fabregas is the centre of attention

FA PREMIER LEAGUE: Arsenal 2 Middlesbrough 0:FOR A heart-stopping moment, Arsenal's Champions League hopes hung in the balance. Cesc Fabregas lay prone, having been caught in the 10th minute by the Middlesbrough captain Stewart Downing, and the way he clutched his right leg hinted at a cruelly-timed injury blow.

Up in the stands, Alex Ferguson’s eyes might have widened. The Manchester United manager’s scouting mission, ahead of the first leg of the clubs’ Champions League semi-final at Old Trafford on Wednesday, might have taught him little about Arsenal that he did not already know but a set-back for Fabregas, the captain and talisman, would have given his plans a different dimension.

The midfielder returned to the fray and, after absorbing another heavy challenge from Gary O’Neil, he served notice he was back to his best. Fabregas only resumed at the beginning of the month after a lengthy knee injury lay-off. His goals that pressed Middlesbrough one step closer to the Championship were of the highest order and Ferguson would have left north London under no illusions about the creative force his team must nullify. With the striker Robin van Persie ruled out with a groin problem, and Andrey Arshavin cup-tied, Fabregas will shoulder great responsibility.

“I was worried,” said Wenger, when asked about Downing’s tackle. “Cesc told me it was the knee he had [injured] before and you don’t like that. And the ankle, too. But after the game, he said the ankle was worse than the knee so that’s not too bad. The referee told me he played the ball but it didn’t look it to me. Downing also told me he played the ball but to me, it didn’t look as if he only played the ball. Cesc, though, gets sharper from game to game.”

Wenger admitted after Fabregas had scored the second goal “the Champions League began to surface in the players’ minds” but the hunt for clues pertaining to his line-up against United had already started. Fabregas was once again deployed in an advanced midfield role and he seems certain to start there behind a lone striker, most likely Emmanuel Adebayor, who returned from a slight hamstring injury with a substitutes’ cameo.

Wenger’s use of Samir Nasri yesterday as a central holding midfielder was intriguing, though: could he play there at Old Trafford, with Abou Diaby on the left? Or will Alex Song, rested here, step back in? In defence, where William Gallas and Gael Clichy are out, Mikael Silvestre’s withdrawal at half-time with a back spasm has left him “50-50”, in Wenger’s words. Johan Djourou, however, came through the second half after his knee injury, while there was the added boost of the goalkeeper Manuel Almunia’s return.

Fabregas’s opening goal showcased not only his shooting ability but Arsenal’s approach work at its slickest. Nicklas Bendtner back-heeled to Fabregas who immediately released Arshavin before he charged forward for the outstanding Russian’s cut-back.

Middlesbrough had reason to feel aggrieved as Bendtner was in an offside position in front of the goalkeeper Brad Jones as Fabregas’ drive flashed home. Moments later, referee Chris Foy ignored Middlesbrough’s penalty appeals when Downing’s corner appeared to strike Bendtner’s upper arm. “There’s no question Bendtner was offside and no question he was interfering with play,” said Boro’s Gareth Southgate.

Southgate had cause to lament Jeremie Aliadiere’s tame finish in the 50th minute when clean through, during a period in which Middlesbrough flickered, and Fabregas’s second, following Emmanuel Eboue’s through-ball and Jones’s ill-advised bolt from his line, deepened the pain.

Guardian Service