LIFE WITHOUT FABREGAS

According to a teddy bear with Bell’s palsy* Francesc Fabregas is staying.

Piers Morgan bumped into Fabregas at a fashion show and asked him three times if he was leaving. And three times our playmaker told him he was going nowhere.

But, as we know, a week let alone six months is a long time in football.

What would Arsenal do without Fabregas and, more to the point, how would they play?

Assuming Wenger manages to keep hold of Andrei Arshavin he might consider playing a 4-3-1-2 formation.

It is a popular system in Italy where the support striker invariably finds space in the channel of uncertainty between the midfield and last third.

In recent weeks I have seen Javier Pastore (Palermo), Marek Hamsik (Napoli) and Wesley Sneijder (Inter Milan) all excel in this role.

And it would suit the little Russian. His awareness, dribbling and passing and shooting are largely wasted out wide and he is certainly no centre forward.

Perhaps in the long term (thanks to Ryan Shawcross) Aaron Ramsey maybe even better suited to the withdrawn role.

The three midfielders have to work hard and shuttle across the pitch to cover the lack of width a four or a front three give.

And it would mean adding to the midfield platoon. Felipe Melo of Juventus and Udinese’s Gokhan Inler both fit the bill and Wenger is a known admirer of both.

It would also mean the full backs would once again be released to go forward and provide width. Maybe that would help Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna rediscover the form they showed a couple of seasons ago.

Mind you, it matters little what formation Wenger deploys if he insists on staying loyal to the Spanish waiter in goal.

*With thanks to the Guardian’s Charlie Brooker.