Arsenal pay high price for skipper's cameo role

SOCCER ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Portsmouth V Arsenal

CESC FABREGAS has backed Arsène Wenger’s decision to summon him from the bench against Aston Villa, deeming it to have been a risk worth taking now that the Spain midfielder will be sidelined for up to three weeks after suffering a relapse of his hamstring injury during his game-changing cameo.

Fabregas aggravated the injury while scoring his second in a scintillating, 27-minute display as a second-half substitute on Sunday as Arsenal, goalless and frustrated until his introduction, went on to win 3-0.

Fabregas underwent a scan on his thigh yesterday with the club’s medical staff still scrutinising the results last night, though the damage sustained to the muscle is expected to rule him out for potentially four Premier League games, starting with this evening’s match at Portsmouth.

He is also expected to miss the matches against Bolton Wanderers, home and away, and Everton, as well as Sunday’s FA Cup third-round tie at West Ham United.

Wenger is hopeful he will have the 22-year-old available again for a potential fourth-round match on 23 January.

That represents a serious blow to Arsenal, who have also lost Denilson to a back injury at Fratton Park and will have to do without Alex Song from next Monday when he departs for the African Cup of Nations, with their captain so influential in propelling their title challenge.

Yet, if Wenger’s decision to use him against Villa might have appeared risky, Fabregas was quick to stress that he had been anxious to feature.

“I am in good spirits when it comes to the injury,” said the Spaniard. “Sure, I won’t be able to play for a while, but I hope to be fit soon and will return to help the team. It happened as I scored the second goal against Villa: I sprinted [on to Theo Walcott’s pass] and felt a strange tug in the back of my leg. But I’d come off the bench with a lot of desire in that game.

“I hadn’t played for a few matches [having first injured the leg against Burnley in mid-December] and I agreed with the manager that I should come on for a while. I’m glad to have played my part – that was why I came on, wasn’t it? To influence the game? Now I just want to avoid injury as much as I can in 2010 and help Arsenal win the title.”

Arsenal, seven points from the summit, play the first of their two games in hand at bottom-of-the-table Portsmouth with Wenger hopeful his side will be able to rely on the likes of Abou Diaby, scorer of the third against Villa, over the coming weeks.

Diaby has shown flashes of class this season and has been selected consistently when fit.

“He looks to be growing all the time,” said Wenger. “His touch is improving, and he is dominating the fight and scoring goals. In Fabregas and Diaby we have two players who can come from deep and score.”

Diaby, such an imposing physical presence, has been hampered by injury since breaking into the Arsenal team and had considered his future after growing frustrated at the string of setbacks.

“Since my arrival four years ago I have picked up a lot of injuries and I asked myself questions because they were really hard times to live,” said Diaby. “I started to have enough of football and getting injured all the time. I wanted to stop, to give everything up. But I hung on. I worked a lot and now I am getting rewarded.

“This season I am playing a lot and I have got enormous confidence in myself. Also, the tactical system of the team – the 4-3-3 – suits me perfectly. I’m developing in this role and I’m blossoming.”

PROBABLE TEAMS

PORTSMOUTH (4-5-1):Begovic; Finnan, Kaboul, Ben Haim, Hreidarsson; Boateng, Yebda, Brown, Mullins, Belhadj; Piquionne. Subs from: Ashdown, Niemi, Wilson, Dindane, Kanu, Webber, Williamson, Mokoena, Hughes, Basinas, Diop, Utaka.

ARSENAL (4-3-3):Almunia; Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Traore; Ramsey, Song, Diaby; Walcott, Arshavin, Nasri. Subs from: Fabianski, Silvestre, Eboue, Senderos, Rosicky, Merida, Vela, Eduardo, Wilshere, Emmanuel-Thomas.

Guardian Service