...and don't let the door hit you in the arse...

(I hadn't intended to write this but some of the responses I've seen on twitter have forced my hand.)

I do not like Francesc Fabregas.

He is not a sporting hero of mine.

I'm baffled by the incredible double standard that Arsenal supporters are showing in their judgement of his actions versus those of other wantaway players. The only reason I can see is that these people simply want to believe that Fabregas is different. They dislike Van Persie, Nasri, Adebayor, etc., but they LOVE Fabregas. He is different. They want him back. He is special. The facts about him dare not contradict their magical thinking.

He rejected Arsenal and he voided the remaining years on his contract. He had signed an extension of terms with a pay rise that would keep him under contract at Arsenal until 2015. That's actually two years FROM NOW.

He had been made club captain (which I thought hilarious at the time because he had never been a leader) and given freedom on the pitch to flourish and become a great player.

My opinions are that he never would've become that player had he stayed at Barcelona because I do not believe he would've ever supplanted Xavi and Iniesta. He wouldn't have become a featured player for the Spanish national side. I don't think he would've become famous or appreciated on the world stage. And he certainly wouldn't have become the object of affection of so many millions of people who, despite his rejection, continue to pine away for him like a weepy teenaged girl.

The Arsenal Football Club is more important to me than individual players, and I do not take it lightly when players act in a way that damages the club. Fabregas' behaviour damaged the club.

1. He left the club before the end of his final season, his final game as club captain, while his teammates played out a draw at Fulham. He was once again injured at the time and showed his fellow players, manager, and most of all the Arsenal supporters, just where his priorities lay.
   
   
2. The timing of his manouever to break his contract left the club scrambling to fill the gap left by his departure. Despite his injury history, it must be said that as the focal point of the Arsenal attack he was not going to be easily replaced. During another of his injury absences in 2008, Arsene Wenger attempted to buy Mikel Arteta from Everton during the January transfer window. Fortunately Wenger was able to finally sign Arteta but not until after the 8-2 humiliation at Manchester United.
   
   
3. The most offensive part of this saga is not the rejection nor the hole left in the Arsenal midfield that would not be filled until the 2012-13 season. No, the most offensive was the fact that by deciding he would only be sold to one club on the face of the planet, Fabregas essentially stole at least 15 million pounds from Arsenal. The cut price of 35 million euros was “negotiated” (in the world outside of football it's more commonly called blackmail, not negotiation) at a time when players like Andy Carroll and Fernando Torres were going for almost double that amount. Arsenal gave Fabregas the opportunity to develop into what some were calling one of the best midfielders (when healthy) in the world. This was the way he repaid the club. And if you think that Arsenal don't need that 15 million quid, you haven't been paying much attention to their transfers lately.

I don't understand how Robin Van Persie can be reviled for his actions but Fabregas is loved to the point that I can sense rapturous tears in some people's tweets when verbally wanking themselves over the thought of the glorious son returning “home” to North London. Let's look at the facts: Van Persie played to within one season of his contract's expiration and had given the club time to bring in replacement players during the transfer window. He never stated that he would only go to one club, thus forcing Arsenal to sell him at a severely discounted price. And Arsenal were compensated fairly in the sale.

Is it disgusting to see Van Persie in that uniform? Yes. Do I want him back at Arsenal? No. Do I dislike him for what he did? Certainly. I'm a football supporter, not a newsreader or a member of a university philosophy department. It's not my job to be rational in my football support. I wanted him to stay at Arsenal and channel his desire to have lots of money win trophies there. But in the end he's just another classless mercenary footballer like all the rest of them.

I know most of my fellow Arsenal supporters feel similar antipathy toward Van Persie.

I just don't understand the embarrassing love-fest for Fabregas, whose behaviour was far worse and far more costly to Arsenal.

I would rather have made him see out the remaining years on his contract in the reserves than have him blackmail the club the way he did. It was disgraceful for everyone involved. And as far as I'm concerned, it still is. Nothing's changed.

Wait, one thing has changed.

We have Santi Cazorla now. That suits me just fine.