When Antonio Conte selects his starting XI for Saturday’s Premier League clash with Arsenal, the first name on the team sheet should consist of four letters - ‘Cesc’. Not that I’m in the business of referring to professional footballers by their first names, let alone abbreviated versions of them.
It’s been a frustrating season for the Chelsea midfielder. The Premier League’s expanding obsession with energy over guile, further amplified at Stamford Bridge by the industrious aspects of Conte’s philosophy, has seen the Spaniard marginalised. He’s clocked up just 32 minutes in the Premier League thus far, coming in the form of three substitute appearances that were Conte’s equivalent of a Hail Mary - throwing the kitchen sink at the opposition for the final ten minutes in search of a goal.
But the Italian clearly values the 29-year-old’s abilities. Whereas Bastian Schweinsteiger and Yaya Toure have been completely frozen out at Manchester United and City respectively, banished to whatever the reserves team are titled nowadays, Fabregas is still a part of Conte’s first-team squad. He’s in training every day, has been called upon regularly from the bench and even started against Leicester City in the League Cup earlier this week - but more on that later.
Currently, the World Cup winner is behind Oscar in the creative midfielder pecking order for reasons already alluded to. Oscar’s up there with talismanic winger Eden Hazard in terms of chances created per minute but also lends to the other side of the game, averaging the most tackles per match (3.6) of any Chelsea player in the Premier League this season.
Clearly, Conte believes even the more creative elements in the engine room need to contribute defensively, not just in terms of protecting the backline and tracking back but also pressing the opposition - something the Brazilian excels at.
But most frustrating for Fabregas will be the fact Oscar’s presence hasn’t exactly proved worthwhile. Chelsea have kept just one clean sheet so far this season - against potential Premier League whipping boys Burnley - and across all competitions have conceded a rather worrying 1.43-goals-per-match. Their Premier League rate is slightly better at 1.2, but does that truly justify Oscar’s role in a midfield that should be solid enough through Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante?
And as our snazzy infographic shows, no Chelsea midfielder has come close to matching Fabregas’ influence creatively this season. 0.13-chances-created-per-minute is more than double the Blues’ next best return in that regard, courtesy of Willian, and four times that of Hazard - who should be completely dominant. Fabregas also comes out on top by a cataclysmic margin in terms of shots-per-minute and passes-per-minute and perhaps most importantly of all, Chelsea’s overall shots-per-minute whilst he’s on the pitch.
Sceptics might argue the Spaniard’s limited game-time has warped the statistics. He’s been introduced into games at points where the opposition have completely conceded the kind of space that allows him to create, in hope of holding out for a result. In other words, the platform is set for Fabregas’ greatest attributes to flourish.
But I’d like to point you to Pedro who, barring one start, has been utilised in a near exact manner to Fabregas by Conte - a last-ditch impact substitute. He plays in a higher position yet is still trumped by Fabregas in every area with the exception of pass completion, something which the marginalised midfielder ranks bottom on simply because he makes risky passes more often.
In addition, Fabregas made it clear he’s still got the appetite to succeed at Chelsea on Tuesday night. He could have sulkily played within himself against Leicester City’s B team in the ever-unloved League Cup, especially as the Blues found themselves two goals down after 34 minutes and even more so as the match entered extra time - 120 minutes is a huge physical burden for any player who has been on the pitch for less than a third of that time across the space of six weeks.
But the Spaniard was at the heart of Chelsea’s revival and proved to be the difference in extra time, taking advantage of Leicester’s red card by moving further forward and finding the space to score two goals.
It’s surely no coincidence such a determined performance came after several weeks on the sidelines and just days before Chelsea face Fabregas’ former employers - Arsenal. Clearly, the midfielder is raring to go and his record against the Gunners is nothing to be sniffed at; three wins, one draw, one defeat and two assists from five appearances.
Likewise, of all the teams Fabregas could face, few suit him better than Arsenal - and not just because he has inside knowledge of how Arsene Wenger sets up his sides. Whilst lesser opponents may sit deep against Chelsea and flood their midfield with shin-shattering brutes, Arsenal are lightweight and naïve in the middle of the park - they can’t muscle Fabregas out of the game and they will leave spaces for him to exploit.
Whether that’s enough to convince Conte remains to be seen. He’s desperate for his preferred XI to amass as much time on the pitch together as possible, which is why Chelsea’s triple substitution against Liverpool last week came in the 84th minute - almost 50 after the Reds’ second and ultimately decisive goal. Likewise, Fabregas played a full match and extra time just a matter of days ago; that’s as good an excuse as any to leave the 105-cap international out once again.
But after a disappointing draw with Swansea, a worrying defeat to Liverpool and an incredibly laboured victory over Leicester City, Chelsea need something a little different, a bespoke and more unique talent than simply another 'up-and-down man'. He may not be able to press, to tackle, to run beyond the striker or adequately track his man, but Fabregas is certainly that.