Sunday 3 May 2015 15:25, UK
Cesc Fabregas told Sky Sports about his return to Arsenal, working under Jose Mourinho and his first season with Chelsea during an exclusive sit-down with Martin Tyler.
Victory over Crystal Palace in the live Super Sunday clash will see Chelsea crowned Premier League champions – and seal a first league title in England for the Spain international.
Ahead of a potentially decisive day, Fabregas lifted the lid on tackling old club Arsenal in Chelsea colours, the lure of Mourinho, the changing style of the Premier League and his hopes for the future...
ON SIGNING FOR CHELSEA
"Once you sign for a big club like Chelsea the main target is to win trophies and to feel important. Hopefully I can achieve both things in my first season. I knew that when I signed here I could fight for trophies.
"Hopefully we can have a good season in the end winning the double; it’s not bad in my first season to win the Capital One Cup and hopefully the Premier League. I feel really fortunate to be part of this group.
"Last year they were close and it’s true; they are basically the same team except maybe Diego Costa, myself and Thibaut Courtois. They got to the semi-finals of the Champions League as well. Even if they didn’t win anything they were close."
ON OPENING-DAY WIN OVER BURNLEY
"I always try to go game-by-game and it’s true in that particular game we felt very comfortable. I think we had a lot of possession of the ball. We were playing very fast football with quality combinations and in the end it’s all about the run.
"The quality of the pass has to be good but for me, the run is the most important; if I see someone is making a good run it’s easier for me to put the ball where I want to put it. (Andre) Schurrle's run was amazing.
"For every single reason it was a very positive start to the season. We took off from there. We started brilliantly in terms of Premier League and Champions League. We were playing quality football and that helps throughout the season."
ON LA LIGA VERSUS PREMIER LEAGUE
"To be honest, yes it's different. I feel tactically it (Premier League) has improved much more. Now the teams know how to put more pressure on the big teams. I think it’s improving for the better."
ON MEETING MOURINHO
"We spoke about many things and he told me Frank (Lampard) was leaving the club. The most important thing for me was that he made me see that I could be very important to this team and that was key for me because when you move from a big team to another one you know you want to be important.
"You want to play football, you want to enjoy it and he made me realise that’s what I could do here. He said to me at Barcelona I was playing number nine, sometimes on the wing and in different positions that I’m not really that good at. He wanted me to play in midfield, midfield and midfield and that’s it. Coming to Chelsea and playing week in, week out in the same position helped my confidence a lot and I’m really enjoying my football."
ON CONFIDENCE
"I’m a confident boy. I go to sleep always thinking that I’ll play even if I don’t know the starting XI and I always believe I will do well. Confidence is not the problem. But when you know you’ll play in this position all the time then it helps every single aspect of my game."
ON COMPLACENCY
"You are champions when you are champions; when you are holding the cup and you know that you have mathematically won it. It’s true the draw at Arsenal was a very good draw for us. We were ten points clear, level on the same amount of games, so it was a big step forward. The win at Leicester was important because we knew we needed one more win for the title."
ON WINNING THE PREMIER LEAGUE
"I have fought really hard to win it. With the football we are playing, we deserve the league. John Terry tells me all the time that nothing compares to wining the Premier League so I want to get this feeling."
ON JOINING CHELSEA AFTER ARSENAL SPELL
"Once I make my decision I go for it 100 per cent. I look back at the feelings and love I had for my clubs as I do with my friends and family because I will always have Barcelona and Arsenal in my heart but Chelsea is giving me an opportunity that maybe for one or two years I have been waiting for.
"That doesn’t mean I have to forget about the past; it will stay with me wherever I go. But now Chelsea have given me a great opportunity to enjoy my football again and I’m taking it."
ON EMIRATES RETURN
"I tried to look at it as a normal game. It was difficult because the night before I did think about many memories I experienced there; it just came into my mind.
"The reception I had was the one I expected, I was someone playing against them. I have done the same. Figo was my hero but when he went to Real Madrid and played at the Camp Nou I went against him. That's normal. But afterwards, when I came off in the last minutes of the game and they started clapping me and I clapped them back, I cannot deny that was a very special moment for me that will stay with me all my life."
ON LACK OF GOALS
"My mission has been to make passes between the lines to the likes of (Eden) Hazard, Willian and Oscar and make them click. I can’t go forward as much as in my old days; with Mourinho, discipline is very important. I have to give stability with (Nemanja) Matic or whoever is playing in midfield. We have done that very well and that’s why we have been consistent at the back."
ON SECOND HALF OF THE SEASON
"You cannot go at 100 per cent for ten months. Not even Lionel Messi can do that, and he is the greatest ever.
"You start the season with plenty of freedom, and you go to Burnley and play well. Sometimes you go to Burnley in February and get a point and it is a good result.
ON PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS
"I look around Europe and look who has got 17 assists from deep midfield; I feel proud and honoured. Only Messi and I think Kevin De Bruyne have that at this level and they play No.10.
"But I want to improve my defensive duties."
ON RELATIONSHIP WITH MOURINHO
"To play against him is terrible. He just knows how to win.
"Now I am seeing it from the inside. When you go into a game with Mourinho, you know what you have to do, you know how to approach the game."
ON CAREER TO DATE
"I look back sometimes and think about playing 11 or 12 years at the top level, for club and country. I am very proud but it only makes me want more and to win more trophies. I will not stop until I have won as many titles as possible."
Watch Martin Tyler's interview with Cesc Fabregas below and catch the extended version on Sky Go, on the iPad app or On Demand.
