Joe Fitzpatrick 
Sorry for my Del Boy-esque Spanish, Gooners, but what's more important is our upcoming Premier League home match with Aston Villa because, as you all know only too well, it puts us all in a bit of a pickle, doesn't it?
Gooners everywhere are feeling as if they have been caught between a financial rock and an emotional hard place, and that is never much fun in any set of circumstances, especially when it concerns our beloved football club. The rock is our wanting to display our dissatisfaction at the lack of transfer spending, not feeling valued as fans anymore and the lack of even a Carling Cup to store in the still-empty Ashburton Grove trophy cabinet despite all of our emotional and financial investment. The emotional hard place is our wanting to support our whole team as much as humanly possible and say farewell and thanks for the memories to the much loved Cesc Fabregas in the manner he so deserves. The good news is that we can do both of these things on the same day and the two things do not have to be mutually exclusive, despite what some people will have you believe.
In order to understand our current dilemma in full, we have to look at the reasons why Cesc wants to leave us and realise that he has every right to be disillusioned with the results of the Professor's grand experiment. And oh, how we should all be feeling stung by the irony of the fact that the poster child of project Wenger now wants out of Le Laboratoire du Professeur Wenger! Le Laboratoire Wenger (or London Colney as we all know it) has become about as successful at producing successful football teams as is Laboratoire Garnier.
We have all seen the results of the extensive experimentation with our own eyes for several years now. Without the aid of microscopes or white coats, we can all see just how far we have fallen since 2004. We are now slumped over, exhausted and emotionally drained at the end of yet another long hard season without silverware. We can't hold a lead to save our lives and we are now completely defensively naive! Wenger even finally admitted it after the Stoke game, albeit in his typically Inspector Clouseau-style, bungling manner. He dropped clanger after hilarious clanger in this classic Wenger interview.
Shall we sneak a look what old Clouseau had deduced for himself just after the Stoke game? Without the help of a pesky Dr. Watson, and with only his very own eagle-eyed, not-impaired-at-all, 20/20 vision he gave a review of his team that many Gooners could have written for him a few years ago now. It sounds like I can hear a penny falling softly, somewhere just up the road. Shhhh! Can you hear it too?
Listen to what Inspector Clouseu said: “Yes, it was a disappointing performance. The competitive level of Stoke was higher than ours. I think we lost the game because Stoke defended much better than we did and with much more purpose. That’s the Premier League. If you do not turn up with the same competitive spirit in every game you can lose games everywhere."
So Inspector, you have deduced that we lack team effort and spirit and cannot expect just to turn up and win? Hmmm interesting, do go on... "Stoke defend well and make it difficult for you. The most important thing here is not to be 1-0 down and with the first free kick we were 1-0 down. In a game like that, we did not penetrate enough. At the end of the day we were not dangerous enough."
So, you're telling me that it's important not to go 1-0 down away from home? Really? Yeah. We shall remember that one, Oh my! How insightful you are, Inspector!
It's interesting to hear you finally say that Arsenal look like they lack penetration and do not look dangerous enough. Might be an idea to fix that then, eh Inspector?
You're saying that Arsenal really shouldn't have let Stoke score a very soft goal from "the first free kick" of the game? I agree 100% with you on that, if you are saying that. Well, we both know how slippery you can be, with your choice of words don't we? Please do continue...
“We have conceded, I think, 21 from set-pieces and only 17 in open play. Less than anybody else in open play but we have been caught on set-pieces. Today, Kenwyne Jones didn’t even need to jump to head the ball in. That is something we have to correct. It is the easiest thing to correct in the game but you still must understand the flight of the ball and want to be first to the ball. I feel we are sometimes a bit naïve."
Can you hear yourself when you speak? Let's hope that Arsene Wenger can too then. Yes Arsene, it's not good news at all when you are saying we cannot rectify the recurring errors that should be relatively easy to correct.
It's not a pretty sight to see Arsenal not being able to defend set pieces, to see them lacking in effort and team spirit and attacking flair and cutting edge? Erm, isn't it - you know - your job, Arsene, to just f***ing well sort all this out!?!?
Cesc has had to watch along with all of us fans as the quality of player at Arsenal has deteriorated rapidly around him since he joined the club. He used to be training with Pires, Bergkamp and Henry for f***’s sake! The poor lad! So let's for a moment try to put ourselves into the very comfortable-looking boots of Cesc Fabregas and at least try to understand his position for a minute. I wanted to try to come up with some reasons why Cesc should stay at the Grove rather than move back home to Barcelona but, to be perfectly honest I'm really struggling, ladies and gents. Barcelona have just won the Spanish title and are in the final of the Champions League and I can honestly see why he would like to be with his mates back home. What would you honestly tell me if I offered any of you even more money to play for the best team in the world, to play in your home city, for the team you support yourself and that just happens to be being managed by your boyhood idol? You'd snap my hand off, wouldn't you? And Cesc must be wondering why Arsenal haven't secured more top quality signings these last few years if they are truly serious about winning trophies while teams like Barca have. He has been quoted as saying as much.
Some of you reading this attend both home and away matches regularly and Arsene Wenger, Stan Kroenke and the players should realise just what a huge commitment that is - financially, mentally and emotionally. I'm sure that Cesc knows how you feel, but I don't think we can keep him without spending a huge amount of money on players and even then, I'm forced to admit, it'd still be difficult to convince him.
I'm sure that Cesc would have loved to have won at least one trophy for us but it won't be his fault if that never happens. He has been amazing at times for us. His head has been turned because Arsenal have failed to put enough players of the same quality around him and are now losing the poster child of Project Wenger. I don't blame him for wanting to leave, and all we should ask of him is to please try to help us get the right fee for his services. When I say the right fee, I mean £50m. After all we've done for him, it's the right thing for him to do.
Before the Villa match there will be a black scarf march that I find interesting, because it allows supporters a platform and opportunity to voice their dissatisfaction at Arsenal F.C.'s lack of transfer spending without sullying the memory of the final appearance of Cesc Fabregas at Ashburton Grove as an Arsenal player, albeit with him watching the action from afar. We don't want him to hear us boo his team-mates in the middle of the game, do we? Hopefully, we can all wish him well for his move back home, ask him to help us get a huge sum of money for him and realise that he is leaving for reasons that are very similar to the reasons that a lot of fans will be attending the black scarf march. He'll probably smile a wry little smile if we chant "show us the money!" or "spend some f***ing money" or "Wenger! Sort it out! Wenger, Wenger, Sort it out!" during the game. Obviously, there will be a lot of ironic "We had Cesc Fabregas" too I'm sure.
Here's to hoping that the rest of the squad can give us a performance against Aston Villa and make us all believe in life after Cesc. I'll be attending both the black scarf march and the game, but I won't be boo-ing any more of our own players. I've learned my lesson and I want to relay my thoughts to Wenger and Kroenke in a more organised and directed manner, peacefully with other like minded people - maybe with a funny chant during the match? You know - just like real football fans.
