Barcelona narrowly beat third-tier minnows L’Hospitalet 1-0 in the first-leg of their Copa del Rey (the second-leg isn’t until December 21st!) thanks to a rather splendid 25ish-yard plum from Andres Iniesta…

However, in a bit of a mirror for Barca’s performance, Cesc Fabregas had what’s known in the business as an ‘off night’ – starting with a couple of botched first-touches before culminating in the complete shanking of an open-goal during the second-half…

…and then, to truly put the icing on the dog turd, Cesc’s miserable night was capped off by a truly wretched performance from his hair during the post-match interviews…

Yeesh!

Videos: 101GG

                          

By Ollie Irish

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Francesc Fabregas (centre) gestures while running with team mates during a training session at London Colney, Hertfordshire

Photos: PA

This is what it is: some pics of Cesc, Wilshere and co. jogging around a field in Hertfordshire ahead of tonight’s Champions League group match against Braga, which I suppose the Gunners will win by a couple of goals. If you’re a Gooner, you might well want to check out the pics. If not, then, er, sorry – move along, nothing to see here.

                          

By Ollie Irish

In which Cesc breaks his silence and confirms what many of us suspected:

“Firstly, I would like to apologise to all the Arsenal fans for not speaking sooner about my future but I’ve not known what I was going to do until this moment.

“I cannot deny that joining a club like Barcelona was not an attractive move for me. This was the club I learned my football, my hometown, where all my friends and family are and a club I have always dreamed of playing.

“There’s not many players in the world who would not want to play for Barcelona.

“I have had many conversations with Arsene Wenger, both in person and over the telephone in the last few months. And although the contents of those conversations will remain private the conclusion is that Barcelona have had two formal offers rejected by Arsenal.

“I am a professional and fully understand that is Arsenal’s prerogative not to sell me.

“I owe a lot to the club, the manager and the fans and I will respect their decision and concentrate on the new season ahead with Arsenal.

“I can assure all the fans that now the negotiations are ended I will be 100 per cent focused on playing for Arsenal.

“I am an Arsenal player and as soon as I step out on to the pitch this is the only club I will be thinking about. I am looking forward to the start of the season and putting all of this speculation behind me.”

So Barcelona can crawl under a stone for another season. As I’ve said before, their shameless pursuit of Fabregas brought football into disrepute, so this news is a small helping of karma. I hope it tastes like shit.

                          

By Ollie Irish

Rave Dog, who is an Arsenal fan, understands that Cesc Fabregas is staying in north London for one more year…

That’s the word. Apparently Cesc will announce today his intention to stay at Arsenal for at least one more season. And… relax.

It’s reasonable to assume Fabregas will give Arsenal one more year of lovely passes and runs into the box, before returning to his spiritual home in an escape pod.

As for villainous Barca, I hope some of their legs fall off.

                          

By Ollie Irish

An open training day at the Emirates, starring… you know who:

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If Fabregas stays and Van Persie stays fit (for at least 75% of the campaign), Arsenal can win the league. But if either of those things fails to happen, I very much doubt they can.

                          

By Ollie Irish

Proof if proof be need be that Cesc is staying at Arsenal this season. Maybe. Er, I’m not sure really. Who is?

                          

By Ollie Irish

Pies is a wee bit late on this, as I was away ‘fishing’ yesterday, but hey, who am I to deny you this grainy clip of Cesc in tears at some award ceremony in Spain. Did he cry at the sight of his young self in a Barcelona shirt, and all those people shouting “Go to Barcelona, you idiot!”? Looks like it. That’s what the pro-Barca press think, of course – it’s a sign!

I’m with Wenger now. The only man who can halt the Cesc Rumour Juggernaut is Cesc. All it would take is one very brief statement, published on Arsenal’s official website: “I am staying at Arsenal this season.”

It’s easy to do. So why won’t he do it? Indeed, his failure to stop the whispers makes Fabregas complicit in the whole ugly affair.

Do the right thing, Cesc: stay at Arsenal for a couple more seasons, then swan off to your spiritual home.

                          

By Ollie Irish

“Make them stop, dear God.”

It’s okay to hate Barcelona – divine, mystical, untouchable, godlike Barcelona. It’s okay now because they’re weaselly c**ts who act without class, shame or respect for other clubs.

With regard to the blatant and relentless courting – tapping up, in effect – of Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas, I believe Barca have brought the game into disrepute. Plain and simple. Except, of course the Catalans are above the law (they’re better than everyone else, remember), apparently, and well used to preferential treatment. If angry Gunners are waiting for Uefa to have a quiet word in Sandro Rosell’s ear, they’re in for a very long wait. Barcelona can do what they want, simply because they’re Barcelona, gatekeepers of the Beautiful Game.

Naturally, it’s been down to Arsenal fans to speak up about the harassment of Fabregas by Barcelona’s players, many of whom share a dressing room with Fabregas in the Spain national team; many of whom call Cesc a friend. But all of us should speak up – it could be your club next.

This will not stand, man.

At first, I’m sure Fabregas was flattered by Barca’s fluttered lashes. When the hottest girl in the room makes an effort to talk to you, how do think it feels? Of late though, it’s gone from flirting to flat-out stalking. When Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique forced Fabregas to pull on a Barcelona shirt, I cringed. I’m sure Cesc cringed too, inside (“Shit, this won’t look good”) – on the outside he grinned, ever the diplomat, but what the hell was he supposed to do? Twas a lowdown, ill-timed stunt.

As a Tottenham fan, this should be fun, of course. And I’m sure that for a lot of Spurs fans, it is a lot of fun. Watching your biggest rival subjected to drip-drip torture all summer long, constantly reminded that they could lose one of the best players in the world – what more could you ask for?! But Barcelona have crossed a line in their pursuit of Fabregas, to the extent that I have some sympathy with the Gunners.

At the end of last week, Arsene Wenger said enough is enough. But, Terminator like, Barcelona will not stop. Ever, it seems. Even today, Pep Guardiola talked of his desire to sign Fabregas, even though the player is blatantly NOT FOR SALE.

“I think bringing in Cesc will cost a lot… We want him to come, but if Arsenal don’t want to negotiate, he won’t come,” Guardiola said earlier today, in what appeared to be one final effort to prise Arsenal’s captain away from north London.

I don’t know which part of that Barcelona doesn’t understand. Just as I don’t know which part of Barcelona’s behaviour here doesn’t constitute disrepute.

It’s as if Barcelona actually believe that if they keep on picking away at this scab of a rumour, Arsenal will eventually give in, like a parent of the spoiled only child who wants an ice cream: “Okay, okay!! F**king take him already. Jesus, anything to shut you up for one minute.”

This will not stand.

                          

By Chris Wright

In light of yesterday’s uber-sensitive hoo-ha, I’m going to ‘plead the fifth’ on this one.

Isn’t Sergio Ramos wearing a lovely hat?!

                          

By Ollie Irish

UPDATE: For all of you touchy, humourless Gooners (see comments), I took this quote directly from Press Association. Hardly a shabby source. In the last couple of minutes, PA have altered it, as have I. Their mistake, not mine. Some of you need to relaaaax.

UPDATE 2: Well, it seems a lot a lot of major news outlets reported Cesc’s tense ‘slip’ too, so what I can really do without is witless Gooners falling over themselves to type ‘fuck off cunt’. That said, several Arsenal fans who have commented do themselves credit; you know who you are. The regulars with a brain.

Thing is, I’m not sure some of you understand how damned difficult it is to take an editorial line in a non-club-specific blog – trying to please all of the people all of the time is literally impossible. I simply call it as I see it; sometimes I think your club is wrong, sometimes I think it’s right. (For club-specific blogs, this line takes care of itself; it’s ‘us against the world’, which is quite an easy place from which to form a popular view: ‘The Spuds are cunts’, no matter what’ – this tribalism is just not my thing.)

I could of course point to a large number of pro-Arsenal posts on Pies, and from a Tottenham fan who happily admits to admiring Arsenal’s football under Wenger, but it seems many of you have made up your minds without doing your research – such is the internet. But, if you’ll allow me a C-Ron moment of egotistical douchery, that’s why I’m in this position – editor of one of the most successful independent football websites in the world – and some of you (the monosyllabic idiots) are angrily thumping your keyboards at 11pm.

So, a reminder: Pies is lightweight, irreverent, something for your lunchbreak – it’s not rocket science, but that doesn’t mean you can resort to foul-mouthed abuse when commenting, unless you also have something interesting to say. Those who do abuse will not be allowed to comment again.

Cheers, Ollie.

After Spain’s 1-0 win over the Dirty Dutch in Sunday’s World Cup final, Cesc Fabregas dedicated the win to current club Arsenal. But he sounded like a man who will be joining compatriots Xavi and Andres Iniesta in Barcelona. Anyway, see what you think of his quote:

“This [World Cup win] is for the Arsenal players, the Arsenal fans, for the manager and all his staff.

“I have had lots of texts and Blackberry messages. My phone is full.

“I had a text message of congratulations from Arsene Wenger. He said I deserve it. I just think this is for everyone at Arsenal who helped me get to where I am now.

“I am really proud to be an Arsenal player.”