Why Toon farce proved Cesc is a great player but not a great captain

By Mark Lawrenson

Published 23:01 11/02/11

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Cesc Fabregas is a top player but, at Newcastle, it showed that he is not a captain.

At 4-2 up with 15 minutes left, someone should have circled the wagons, ensuring that 10-man Arsenal would not concede again.

Instead of shutting up shop, they let slip a four-goal lead. Incredible.

Fabregas is a great player, but not the leader or the captain for that sort of match.

Now Arsenal will have to ensure that they hold their nerve against Wolves. And that will be tense.

By the way, I stand by my Match of the Day assessment on Joey Barton’s tackle on Abou Diaby. It was hard, he went in with one foot and ­ultimately it was fair.

You can only ­sympathise with Diaby over the ­horrendous injuries he’s had in the past. But that cannot mean you can never go in with hard tackles on him again.

*******

Darren Bent can be just what Wayne Rooney needs for England.

With Bent scoring goals, it allows Rooney to drop deep, see more of the ball and create havoc – and hopefully get back to his lethal best.

It could turn out to be a really good partnership for both players, with one feeding off the other.

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