Cesc Fabregas is worth ________ to the club

Yes this was a great piece of play but please consider it was 2 seasons ago since his injuries he has not really come up with anything as good for too long

is darren gonna make his blogging debut anytime soon? or did i miss that?

Oh boy, I can't wait to disappoint the masses.

And clearly the masses can't wait to be disappointed by you as well.

The draft of his first post is 10+ pages. No pictures. No video. It's actually an MA thesis he bought off the internet. 

You really know how to keep the audience on the edge of their seats, huh?  Actually, I think JG will run his next blog first, and then Darren will debut.

Something is in the works at the moment. 

Send him on Loan to Real madrid just to rile Barca and Fabregas himself...

i am disgusted with the way Barca doing business with us. Today 30M, tomorrow 31M, the days after tomorrow 32M.....I will sell Fab to Madrid so Barca won't have him forever....

If the Arsenal board and their sad shell of a once great manager were not so cowardly the terms should be this:-

50 million in straight cash.
35 million plus Maschareno - I cant believe that every newspaper in the country has not latched onto the Argentine as the perfect makeweight.  Defensive steel guaranteed.

And if we get the staight cash we MUST invest in a Neymar or Aguero.  NOT some crap from Argentina with 50 games and 5 goals to show for his career at 23.

There is a much bigger issue than just Cesc in all of this.  Arsenal have ceased to be seen as a possible location for the great players of the world.  If we bend over for this, I dont see us coming back.  Our current managment has no interest in making Arsenal great. 

I worry about that too, that we are not even talked about as destinations for the best players. 

The transfer rumours are driving me crazy. I mean just this past 24 hours we have been rumoured to have agreed deals with Ricky (Alvarez), Chamberlain, Mata (almost) Cahill and we still close to signing Gervinho and Samba. It almost seems like the transfer window is stressing us fans out, while le Prof. looks as cool as a cucmber. Aaaaaaaaaaaaah.
Anyway I hope any signing is well-thought out.

Nuri Sahin would have been an ideal replacement for Cesc but he is also at Madrid already.. 50M and it's done!

I think I'm probably the only one who feels this way, but I think it is time for Cesc to move on. He had a mediocre season at best, and any player who gets these 'niggling' injuries is not someone to base a team around. It is time for Cesc, and Arsenal, to move on. Barca are completely right, his value has dropped. If we can get Thiago and/or a really quite decent, in my book, 35m ish then I'd be happy. And for his leadership, no one who will openly declare they want to play for another club is fit to be Arsenal's captain.

You're not the only one who thinks that way.  For me, it's a dilemma.  If I was assured we'd spend all the money we get for him, plus whatever we were going to spend anyway, then I'd say do it.  Then we'd end up with the likes of Mata, Baines, Vertonghen, and Gervinho.  I'd happily take that exchange.  It's just that I've seen how we work, and we don't re-invest.  So if the option is either keeping Cesc or spending half the money we get for him, I'll say keep him.

Value gone down? After winning the World Cup? No way.

He is worth 100 million to Arsenal over the remainder of his contract with shirt sales and how far he takes us in the league (champs league qualification) and champs league progression.

One million Yen, Afellay, Thiago, Jeffren, and a lifetime supply of Torgo's Executive Powder!

Whatever we get for fabregas i am sure the fee will be undisclosed. Arsenal are a very sly club when it comes to anything involving the fans. We would not be able to moan at why fabreags was sold on the cheap. Wenger will not reinvest fully in the fabregas money we get. FABREGAS WILL BE SOLD THIS SUMMER FACT! THE FEE WILL BE UNDISCOLSED FACT!! (And here's the one that pisses me off the most) BARCELONA WILL SIGN HIM ON A LONG TERM CONTRACT AND PUT A BUYOUT CLAUSE OF AT LEAST £150 MILLION IN HIS CONTRACT!!!! 
Its what they do.......

He is definately worth 50M+ to Arsenal. With Arsenal Cesc is sometimes a game changer (for the better) even when this past season he had his hammy injuries. To Barcelona definately not cause they have players like him. I really don't know how negotiating that price will go about.

My question is, who's capable of replacing Cesc and producing the same quality (and even better) performances? (Both in the current squad & potential new signing[s])

In terms of outside players, I think there are a few that fit the bill, but Cesc plays a bit of an odd role. He is more direct than many similar players. 

I haven't seen much of Pastore, but he seems like more of a tricky Iniesta-type. Same with Hamsik. Ozil would do wonderfully, but he's not leaving Madrid. I thought Gourcuff would be a great replacement, but he seems to have regressed this past season.

Who knows, there's probably some young Frenchie that we don't know that Wenger will find.

Nasri likes to work in close; his passing is limited (though excellent at times) at best and myopic at worst.

Wilshere has retreated this season, but I think he has it in him. It's more like we've needed him back. His vision is excellent, and he has the skills to make those same passes that Cesc makes. I'm thinking specifically of that game against Bolton, I think, where Jack sent a beautiful pass upfield to Cesc on the break with Walcott.

Ramsey may fit the position better, but until we see more of him I'll reserve judgment. He's obviously got skill and composure and intent. Whether he can fashion all that into a complete package and step up this season needs to be seen.

Great question.

It's hard to say because A). He's only going to one possible club outside of Arsenal, B). He spends way too much time injured.

don't understand why barca are reinforcing their midfield of all places, but i guess cesc is long term.

Just let him go - Barca won't go over 31 million so cash in now. They have a fantastic youthful midfield anyway so invest the money wisely, get an experienced midfielder from abroad for 5 or 6 million, buy a world class keeper and get another striker to replace Bendtner. You'll probably get change too

I kind of agree. The conventional wisdom seems to be that Cesc wouldn't put in a transfer request, but I wouldn't bet on it. If and/or when he does, he's got Arsenal by the nuts and then Barca may offer even less. If a player doesn't want to play for a team, the team can't do anything about it. See Lindros, Eric or Nabakov, Evgeni.

Business and football. Nice combination.
Business wise, I d say put a price tag and the one who pays it, takes the player. But on the other hand, millions earned and not re invested would suck big time, so some millions plus a player, (I d choose Afellay or a really really good promise, because , lets face it I might be called delusional to wish for Afellay in a trade, but they want actually to buy our playmaker and main man..which is more delusional?
Football wise, he is a great, world class player. But how does a player who wants to leave influences his teammate, mostly when he is a captain? I mean no desrespect to Cesc, he has been exceptioanl and very professional...but lets face it, the wishes sooner or later make the surface.
Cesc is worth a lot to the club, taking these two facts into consideration should give us an answer.
Mine: half and half, he is worth a lot, but we want to win and he wants to go, take money and a really good player and we all move on. (Unless of course he does not want to leave, because I certainly prefer him to stay!)

btw.. I dont think Gervinho is coming this year. Chamakh situation. We'll get him next year on a free...
Darren better write a new post!

30 + Thiago... or 45 cash.

I would take either. 

Wouldn't 30 + Thiago make the most sense for both sides?  Plus it would make sense for Thiago himself, considering how buried he'd be on the depth chart if Cesc arrived.

Really?  Do we really want to go through this all over again in 3 or 4 years?

Agreed. I'd rather we take the extra money or a player who won't want to go back to Barca in 3 years after we've developed them into a great player. I'd take Keita or Mascherano though.

seema like he's off. bbc has confirmed it 

I am absolutely sick of hearing about this Cesc thing. Put up or shutup. Seriously.

Sorry. Let's keep blog management issues private, though. You're really killing my credibility with the readership.

I mean I'm just tried of all the rumor and spreading nonesense amongst Gooners. Doing Barca's job for them with all this speculation. And seems no one understands what they are doing.
Barca needs to give a real bid, or shut up.

The problem for me is that no matter what he sells for, I'm confident we're not going to re-invest it in the transfer window.  We've seen this play out many times.  If I was told he'd sell for 45-50 million pounds, I could put together a very nice list of players to buy from that.  Then if I added in what we're supposed to have in the bank anyway, we could really go crazy with it.  I just know that's not how we work.  So all the money in the world isn't really worth it for Cesc as a fan, knowing all that.

At this point though we are relying on his quality as a professional to keep giving 100% for a team he doesn't really want to be playing on. I think it's inevitable that the effort will taper off the longer the situation goes on. It's true for all players that their departure is inevitable, but the case with Cesc has been growing more out of hand with each day. I realize 75% effort from Cesc is still better than 100% from most everyone else out there, but I just can't get broken up about letting him go.

He's worth a ton, I mean even what most of us consider as a disappointing season by Fabregas coupled with his niggling injuries he had quite a number of goals and assists (can't quite remember the exact number). Imagine a fit Fabregas with a good preseason under his belt. Anyway I for one would not take anything under 45 million and I'm being considerate. If Rosell is so sure Fabregas' value will keep falling he should be patient and He (Rosell) might just get Fabregas for free.

If Barca don't want to pay what he's worth (at least 50m), they can f**k off. I would rather we keep him until his contract runs out and let him go for free than sell him for less than he's worth now. That would give us 3 more years to develop Ramsey and Jack and bring in new talent if needed. We would get some of the best years out of Cesc and not be in a position where the team would severely suffer from him leaving.

Well, I think you're close. I think a good edit to your post would be keep him until his contract runs down to the remaining year and a half, then sell him for the best you can get, all the while you have developed Ram & Jack, no? ;)

Or make him sign another 8 year contract and then sell him in a couple years at his peak for 80 mil.

Ha, even better. I just worry the "niggling" injuries are going to take a
toll on his body, I hope for all parties included that he doesn't turn out
to be a lemon.

Even if he continues to only play 30 games a season, we're better off with him. Plus, that gives Ramsey and Jack more opportunities to stake their claim on his position.

I agree, 50 million should suffice. If he wants to go then, we'll say adiós. Thanks for the memories and the best of luck. I understand its his childhood dream but where is the challenge? They're arguably the best team in the world so who is going to compete against them and give them a good game (apart from Arsenal of course). The more challenging aspect is to win the Premiership, them move on. Its not that he's getting long in the tooth, he's 24!)
Just my point of view, I hope he stays. By the way I almost burst a blood vessel when he scored that goal against Spurs (cheering too much), outstanding!!   
Also has anyone heard any more on the Ricky (Ricardo) Alvarez? I saw some youtube clips of him and he seems promising. 

Rico

The question is, if he leaves, will we find a playmaker as good as him? When he's fit, he's one of the best in the world, and that's why Barcelona want him. Nasri could replace him, but he lacks the creativity and vision that Cesc has. Ramsey is capable of playing very well, but is far from the level of Fabregas, for the moment at least. 
I think two options are possible:
1. (the most likely) He tells the club he wants to go to Barcelona and Barcelona splash the cash, as Arsenal will never let him go for less than 40million (I mean come on, he better than Carroll isn't he??) . Vermaelen or RVP to be captain. Nasri to stay and take the Cesc role or we use the money and buy a world-class playmaker, while Ramsey continues to develop.
2. (the least likely but best in my opinion) Fabregas commits himself COMPLETELY to the Arsenal fending off interest from Barcelona (anyway, he'll just be a bench-warmer if he leaves now). He stays captain but that leaves Nasri's future in doubt.

If I had to choose between Cesc and Nasri I would pick Cesc every time. We don't have anyone that can match Cesc's ability in the team and it would not be easy to find a replacement. We are already lined up to buy a couple guys that can match Nasri's skill set so as much as I like him as a player, we don't need him. 

As you said, Nasri is a good player, but he's more Arshavin that Xavi. Meaning, he's more of a support striker/tricky winger than a true midfield maestro like Cesc.  

There is no benefit to selling him this summer. His contract lasts till 2015 (I think). There are only a handful of players out there that could fill his shoes and none of them would come to Arsenal. He has plenty of time to play for Barca. He's only 24. When we have players ready to take over for him, he can go, but selling him now would guarantee an even worse season than the last.

he should be sold cos his mind is no longer with da gunners. wenger should let him go otherwise he(fabregas) wont play with his heart like last season.                                                                   

When more than a billion people are hungry right now, no player is worth more than a couple of millions. The transfer market has become a mad world what with all the oil-rich clubs and the massive worldwide audiences. That being said, I think a cap should be placed.

Back to the real world, £50m would suffice. 

I've wanted a salary cap in place for so long, problem is every league in the world would have to implement it, and sadly we know that won't happen.

Not only a salary cap, a transfer cap as well. Don't forget that players' income is not solely based on their wages from clubs but also from sponsorship deals et al. If a club is, and should be run, like a profit-based organisation; its main income should not be the trading of assets, but the giving a service, or entertainment if you will, to the general public. 

Heh exactly! In my head I knew what I wanted. Basically I want a cap on the team's overall expenditures for a given season, so that would be inclusive of how much they spend on transfers and how much they pay a given player for the season.

I agree 100%.  I have no idea what it would be like to follow a team like Bolton year after year.  I'm not trying to put them down at all though.  It's just that every season, there are basically just a couple of clubs that have a chance to win anything.  And it all comes back to money. 
In the NFL, there are still really good and bad teams.  But every team pretty much has a chance to compete.  In fact, the team from the smallest market in the league just won the title.  Imagine that happening in the EPL. 
But since I like to watch soccer, I almost have to pick one of the bigger clubs to follow, or else it would be too painful. 

I guess that's why only the big clubs have a global fanbase. On the Offside, having someone that is actually from North London is a rare occurrence. Most of us started to support Arsenal because we started watching them on TV and were mesmerized by the sheer quality of the team.. or because we hated United. I myself wasn't born in Arsenal loving family. I was brought up to love football, sure, but not a particular team in general. But when I started to follow Arsenal in 2002, I fell in love with them. The point is, imagine you started to support Bolton, for example, because of the awe of "the sheer quality of the team". You wouldn't. Success, quality and money are in a weird relationship that bring about each other and if one of the three slowly degrades, so do the others.

The thing that annoys me most about this whole situation is the very fact that we will never get what is considered to be his true market value. There's no bidding war as the lad only wants to go to barca & everyone knows this. So whilst the price of Sanchez keeps getting pushed up(a guy no one seemed interested in 6 months ago) to the point where he may attract a fee in excess of £36m for someone who's done nothing of relevance in the game, we will have to settle for a sub standard offer when we ordinarily could have got more than £45m.

That's why it's silly for us to sell him. He has a long term contract, so it benefits us more to let it run out, continue adding quality to the team and hopefully win a few trophies before he eventually leaves. What would have happened had Viera or Henry left Arsenal in in their prime? Would that team have been as successful without them? I doubt it.

Fabregas can leave its a pity he hasn't learn't anything as a player about transfers,Helb was a great midfielder but today plays in Birmingham city,Flamini good player but today what will you call him. Barcelona is a team every player want to play for and also every team want to play like. No player in the world right now will play more than any barcelona player from the attack to defense is a perfect team.Xavi is the only player Fabregas can play his position,but for the next 3 to 4 years no player can send Xavi to barcelona's bench. Fabregas leaving Arsenal mark this day will be the end of his football career.please is it possible to send me a website were I can comment on this issues?I would love as many football lovers to see my comments.To me he is worth 50million pounds plus a contract to any big club but barcelona.

if they pay 50 million and include thiago in the transfer , i would sell him