KG3 wrote:If you deny Fabregas was better you were either too young to watch him during his Arsenal time or still bitter about him leaving and eventually playing for Chelsea.
I hate fabregas like I hate Ashley Cole but that doesn’t stop me from admitting he’s the best creative mid we’ve ever had, just as Cole is the best LB we’ve ever had.
You people need to learn to separate your feelings from you judgement.
Nah.
Value judgment is coming into play here. When Cesc was our main man, Wenger was in his prime; we were playing the best football in Europe; for many, we were the hipster team. There was hope. There was nativity.
That automatically makes us recall those days with zeal and nostalgia.
Cesc played with Henry, Gilberto, Pires, Ljungberg, Bergkamp, Hleb, Rosicky, van Persie, Arshavin, Adebayor, and Nasri.
Ozil played with Alexis, Giroud, Cazorla, Walcott, Ramsey, Xhaka, Auba, et. al. Apart from Alexis, none of them are in the same league.
If you're going to compare, you have to be objective. Messi, despite being the greatest of all time, arguably, dragged Argentina to 3x finals, but couldn't take them over the line. At Barca, he was winning stuffs at a canter. We didn't even win anything in those Cesc years.
Direct comparison works when supporting actors are on even footing, which is why Messi v Ron is a fair analysis, but Henry v Benzema isn't.
Wenger was the greatest walking manager until 2012. He absolutely overachieved whether it was the Cesc years or the Ozil years. But back during Cesc's time here, we always had hope. We believed in an Arsenal renaissance. The Ozil years was filled with negativity, and a grumbling discontent towards Wenger and how things were at Arsenal, which is why people recall the Cesc years in a more positive way.
Cesc is the closest we have had to an Arsenal legend since the Highbury guys. He came here when he was 16. Became a regular at 18. Was captain by 21. Absolutely bossed games. And, then he left. It was an unfulfilled journey, which is why people reframe his legacy and caliber. There was so much good about Arsenal there and hindsight only serves to polish the spark.