CAPE TOWN – Former Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas has caused some controversy by claiming that the club only had three good players during his tenure as captain.
Fabregas joined the Gunners from Barcelona as a 16-year-old and spent eight years in London before going back to the Catalan club in 2011. He moved to Chelsea after three years in Spain, and is currently turning out for Ligue 1 side AS Monaco.
Speaking to the Arsecast podcast, the Spaniard said only Robin van Persie and Samir Nasri were on the same level as he was.
“I was the captain, I always felt so much pressure on myself. I had to lead this team to win something. I gave everything,” said Fabregas.
“Sometimes, I used to go home after we lost and I used to cry. I used to suffer. I used to spend sleepless nights suffering.
“And then you lose a game, you’re in the bus like this, destroyed, and then you hear some players laughing, thinking about where they will be going out later.
“This was going on for a few years. Yeah, we were playing beautiful football and I enjoyed that side of things,” he continued.
“But I was putting pressure on myself to lead, to do everything and at point, I felt kind of lonely. Especially in the last two or three years, I felt Robin and Samir were the only players who were on my level mentally and technically.
“It’s not an arrogant thing to say, it’s how I felt at the time.”