Djourou: Fabregas vital to Gunners

Johan Djourou says Arsenal's chances of lifting the Premier League this term trophy will take a huge blow if Cesc Fabregas decides to leave. Fabregas has been at the centre of a summer-long tug-of-war between Arsenal and the Catalan giants, with whom the Spaniard began his career as a youngster.Barca's £30million move for the Gunners midfielder was quickly rebuffed earlier this summer and manager Arsene Wenger is confident that his skipper will remain with the club this season.Djourou says that Fabregas is a "vital" member of the team and must remain if they are to win their first Premier League trophy since 2004."We all know that Fabregas is an important player for us. He is a great player," said the defender."It is vital that he stays with us so we can keep the team together because that's the most important thing - that we keep all the players."We need him. It's his decision and we can't do anything about it but I hope he stays."Djourou reckons that the team are ready to end six trophy-less years by bringing the Premier League title to the Emirates."We can't wait to get the season started," said Djourou."Now we are ready to deliver. We have been saying this for years but we have been missing that little bit."Now I believe we are ready to push for first place. We want to be up there. We now have the quality to do it."Arsenal's defensive weaknesses were exposed today when Pato scored for AC Milan with a free header inside the box to ensure that the Gunners' first game of the pre-season Emirates Cup tournament ended in a 1-1 draw.Wenger is keen to add a defender to his squad after the departures of the experienced trio of William Gallas, Mikael Silvestre and Sol Campbell this summer.Djourou, who missed all but one of Arsenal's games last season due to a knee injury, is now ready to stake his claim for a place at the heart of Arsenal's defence alongside either Thomas Vermaelen or new signing Laurent Koscielny.The Swiss international said: "It was frustrating last season because I was hoping for a great season and I ended up just watching the guys play from the sidelines."Now I'm really up for it and ready for the season."It is a very good chance for me to break into the team with all the players that have left."I feel a lot better and stronger now I'm back from injury. Now it's up to me to prove that I'm still good enough to play in week in, week out."

Source: Team_Talk