Cesc Fabregas

Who? That was the first thing I thought. Arsenal? With their resources, they choose to start a 17 year old kid ahead of Edu who had a breakout season last year?

So I watched Fabregas, almost to the point of exclusion of the rest of the Arsenal team, and learned that this is a fabulous footballer. How could the Barcelona youth system let him escape?

Poise, control, timing, and defense splitting passes are keeping Edu firmly on the bench. This is not one of these situations where a younger player is replacing a more established player to gain experience. This is a better player replacing an established starter, plain and simple.