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A love story can be a dreamy utopia where the lovers unite and stay happily ever after. Or, it can be one, where they move on after realizing that they are not meant to be together, but, still continue to bleed for one another.
As the final whistle blew at Emirates, a bland, staid game between Arsenal and Chelsea came to an end. Chelsea did not mind the stalemate and were quite happy with the result. It took them another step closer to the coveted league title.
Amidst all the hue and cry and John Terry exulting, one man was caught muddled in his thoughts – Cesc Fabregas. The ex-Gunner captain was not seen celebrating with his teammates. Neither was he too choked on returning to his previous home.
He just stood there at the end.
The crowd at Emirates had greeted him with boos and catcalls. Each touch on the ball was doused in deafening jeers. He could not step up to his standards throughout the match. But, that has been the tale for the Spaniard since he left the north London side.
At Barcelona, he was deployed as a false nine, sometimes as an attacking playmaker, but he could not realize his potential. Add to that a lack of game time and his frustration grew as he failed to nail a permanent berth in the playing eleven at his boyhood club. Time came to bid adieu and teams came swooping down for his signature.
Fabregas realized that it is Arsenal where he truly belonged.
However, Arsenal turned their backs on him. He came back to London, west London. He found home in the tent of the arch rivals – Chelsea.
Soon, it was touted as the best buy of the season, ranked ahead of the transfer of Alexis Sanchez to Arsenal.
He got off to a whirlwind start combining with the fiery Diego Costa creating chances aplenty for the Blues. Since the winter break, Fabregas’ form plummeted. Once a creative playmaker, he was now a misfit in the role of a holding midfielder, with a hardly noticeable presence on the field.
His return to Arsenal was not possible. A club where he nurtured and developed his talents had now shunned him after he decided to leave for Barcelona. With a midfield comprising of Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott, he would have been a surplus. Ozil was the new preferred number 10, a place once mastered by Fabregas.
Thus, when he was substituted at the fag end of the game against Arsenal, his departure was met with loud mocks at the inception. Gradually, the jeers gave way to applause. The ex-Arsenal number four jersey holder, Fabregas acknowledged the same and headed off to the dugout.
But, once the final whistle blew, he wore a dazed look. The place was familiar but the atmosphere wasn’t. The faces were known, the expressions, baffling.
As the rest of the Blues brigade celebrated, Fabregas was seen exchanging jerseys with Ozil – the man to whom he has lost his place.
He draped the Arsenal shirt loosely, appreciated the ‘home’ support and trudged off the Emirates pitch for one last time, this season.
Once a Gooner, now a stranger!
