THE VIEW FROM ARSENAL

Unfortunately, when Chelsea signed Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona last summer, Arsenal fans felt that horrible feeling at the pit of their stomach. Our former captain broke his promise and shacked up with that rich, more successful fella who lives down the road.

Gunners fans were left searching for the hows and whys of Fabregas' decision to move to Stamford Bridge. When it was revealed that Arsene Wenger actually turned the Spaniard down before completion of his Chelsea move, his transfer tactics were once again called into question.

Wenger's preference to stay true to the super-expensive and at times invisible Mesut Ozil was the justification and it didn't sit well with many, me included.

One month on, in July, Wenger raided Barcelona himself to sign his joker in the pack. Alexis Sanchez arrived for a bumper £30million and in his first half season of Barclays Premier League football has already become the new darling of the Emirates. 

Having hit 14 goals in all competitions before Christmas - including nine in the Premier League - Sanchez looks the perfect fit for English football.

His strong work-ethic, appetite for attack and goal return already mean that Sanchez is indispensable to Arsene Wenger's plans. If there is a man who can lead the side beyond the realms of fourth-placed normality, it's the 26-year-old.

Both players commanded a similar fee, both arrived from Barcelona and both are already proven at the highest level. Whichever player Wenger had decided to sign, it would have been a major coup.

While Fabregas is having perhaps his best ever season in English football, we should stay faithful with Wenger's choice. The Spaniard has notched 12 assists in Chelsea blue already this season – one more than Jack Wilshere has made in his entire Premier League career - and it's a remarkable statistic.

Fabregas' record is even better than the combined total of EIGHT Arsenal midfielders, including the likes of Ozil, Wilshere, Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey. But had he been taken ahead of Sanchez, he would have been just one more player to fit into a lineup of midfield clones.

Each of the aforementioned midfielders bear similarity to each other's style and should Wenger finally decide to address the actual weaknesses in our squad over the next couple of transfer windows, Arsenal will rightfully stand at the next level. 

(dailymail.co.uk)