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Camden New Journal - by STEVE BARNETT
Published: 31 July 2008

Cesc Fabregas

Gunners aim to retain warm-up cup

Arsenal all set to face giants while Spurs’ new recruits bid to become attacking force

CESC Fabregas will get a chance to lift his second major trophy of the summer when Arsenal bid to retain the Emirates Cup on home soil this weekend.
The European Championships winner will face Spanish league champions Real Madrid and Italian giants Juventus as the Emirates serves up an eagerly awaited feast of football.
Last year, an Arsenal side still reeling from the loss of Thierry Henry beat Inter Milan and PSG 2-1 in both matches to take the trophy.
Having lost Mathieu Flamini and Alex Hleb this summer, Gunners fans will hope that a good performance in the sell-out tournament will prepare them for a successful season. Especially as Arsene Wenger continues to resist being sucked into the chase for big-name signings.
But it’s not just Arsenal fans having to come to terms with life after the loss of key players this summer.
Spurs supporters are sweating over the state of their forward line following striker Robbie Keane’s £20million departure to Liverpool and Manchester United’s bid to seal the signature of Dimitar Berbatov.
Russian star Andrei Arshavin’s name is being bandied about the Lane but, regardless of the rumours, new recruits Luka Modric and Giovani dos Santos are chomping at the bit to make Spurs an attacking force this season.
Croatian midfielder Modric, 22, admits he has his sights set on a less defensive role than the one he adopts for his country.
“It hasn’t been decided yet but I hope that I’ll be playing forward,” he said. “I feel more comfortable in a forward position.”
Dos Santos, 19, is fancied to step into the No10 role vacated by Keane.
He said: “It’s no secret my favourite position is just behind the striker. That’s where you get more freedom as a player to express yourself.”

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