Thursday, November 27, 2008

Cesc Fabregas says Arsenal must win at Chelsea to stay in Premier League title race

"All the teams in the Premier League know they have to defend a lot," said Fabregas. "They are pressuring us all the time and it looks like all week they just train on defending."

Arsenal are fifth, 10 points adrift of Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table, and the club's new captain says that victory at Stamford Bridge on Sunday is also now necessary to get back into the title race. "We want to get back into the title race so we have to win," said Fabregas.

"Let's stay relaxed and play our football and I am sure we will be OK if we do what we do. We respect Chelsea but we go with confidence. Our target is to go to Chelsea and win. Arsenal never go anywhere for a draw."

As an Arsenal captain, Fabregas hopes to emulate some of Tony Adams' success and has already set a target of winning at least one trophy this season.

"From what people say he [Adams] was amazing. I want to be my own player and my own person. But hopefully one day I can achieve some of the things he achieved."

After qualifying for the knockout phase of the Champions League with their 1-0 win over Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday, there is a realisation that their attacking approach could be more effective against European competition.

"Europe is a different game to the Premier League," said Fabregas. "The Champions League is different, teams try to play a bit more, try to come out a bit more. Maybe it's true that Europe suits us a little bit more but if you want to win something you have to be able to play against anybody. We have to play as a team and when we play good, quick passing, we can play against anybody."

After the drama of the past week, Fabregas hopes that the victory over Kiev can represent a turning point in an unpredictable season that has seen Arsenal already lose five of their 14 Premier League matches.

"After what I saw we are back on track," he said. "It was a win, we kept a clean sheet, we created chances, we had a lot of injuries and we responded well. We showed we were united.

"At the end of the season, we will see what we can achieve but at the moment we are in every competition," he said. "People can say whatever they want about the title race but we have only played 14 games.

"Whatever has happened with William [Gallas] is in the past. William has been superb for us. He showed he is a great professional. I have learnt a lot from him and I know, if I need to, I can always go to him. I felt relaxed. I thought I played one of my best games of the season."

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