4. Cesc Fabregas

From promising youngster to the heartbeat of the Arsenal side - Cesc has come a long way since joining the club as a 16-year-old in September 2003.

Likeable and level-headed off the pitch, Cesc is the complete midfielder on it. He has always been tigerish in the tackle and blessed with wonderful technique and vision, but Cesc added a new dimension to his game last season - goals, and plenty of them. He netted seven times in his first nine games and, although that scoring rate fell away, Cesc still ended up with 13 in all competitions. There were some belters too, including long-range efforts at Tottenham and Milan.

To nobody's surprise, the fulcrum of Arsène Wenger's side walked away with Arsenal.com's Player of the Season award for the second successive year. He has plenty of admirers outside Emirates Stadium too, not least among his peers - they voted him PFA Young Player of the Year.

The Spaniard first came to prominence at the Under-17s World Cup when he walked off with awards for best player and top scorer. Soon after arriving from Barcelona he became Arsenal's youngest ever player and scorer. By the time he had left his teenage years behind, Cesc had surpassed 150 appearances for the Club.

Of course, the 21-year-old is now also a fixture in Spain's national squad and played a major role in his country's Euro 2008 triumph. Cesc came off the bench to devastating effect in the group stage and netted a penalty shoot-out winner against Italy in the Quarter-Finals - his first spot-kick as a professional.

 

MY YEAR

May

Cesc was rested in the month’s first fixture but returned to captain the side in the remaining four matches of May. The Spaniard is already looking forward to next season and in an interview with the Official Matchday Programme he said: “We have to look at where we can improve, and make sure we do that for next season. We’ve gone 21 games without losing in the league, so we know we are good, but when we’ve played in the Semi-Finals of the FA Cup and Champions League we haven’t been at the level everyone expected us to reach.”

April

Cesc returned from three and a half months out with a bang, claiming two assists in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Manchester City on April 4. He followed that up with another assist against Villarreal three days later but saved his very best for the Premier League clash with Middlesbrough on the 26th. The captain lashed the Gunners ahead after 26 minutes before sealing the victory with a calm finish just past the hour mark.

March

Cesc did not manage a first-team appearance in March but it will not be long now. The Spaniard returned to full training on Thursday, March 19 and could be fit enough to face Manchester City in April. "Cesc should be fit in two weeks," confirmed Arsène Wenger. "He is back in full training now and during the international break he has two weeks to sharpen up. Normally, he should be available again against Manchester City."

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