Pep Guardiola
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By Chris Harris
Pep Guardiola is not surprised to see Cesc Fabregas rattling in the goals - because he was a clinical finisher as a boy at Barcelona.
Arsenal's captain started to learn his trade at a time when Guardiola was bossing the midfield at the Nou Camp. Fabregas looked up to the Barcelona No 4 and Guardiola in turn kept an eye on the youngster's progress.
Fabregas left Barca for Arsenal at the age of 16 and, six years on, is banging in the goals for Arsène Wenger's side. The midfielder has already netted 18 times this season - more than any Arsenal team-mate - and Guardiola is well aware of the threat Fabregas will pose if he passes a fitness test ahead of tonight's Quarter-Final tie.
"Cesc is a very dynamic player, he is always moving around and he's actually playing closer to the opponent's goal so he has more chances to score goals," he said. "Since he was little he was always a clinical finisher."
That said, Guardiola believes that Arsenal will still be dangerous even if Fabregas misses out on the first leg.
"I know that Cesc is a very, very good player and Arsenal are better if he plays but without him they still beat Porto 5-0," noted the Barcelona manager. "They have three or four players who are very dynamic and can play in the same position.
"They will be playing to their strengths, so will we and we will judge after the game. We all know that scoring an away goal is very, very important for the return leg so we are going to have attacking intentions. We will try to score a goal, that is the main idea."
[Wednesday, March 31, 2010]
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