14 October 2023 , 12:00
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Brighton are one of three teams that Cesc Fabregas cannot get enough of watching. The 36-year-old recently made his first steps into coaching by taking over the U19 team at Como, the Italian second-tier side he is part-owner of.
He has become fascinated by Roberto de Zerbi’s style of play and can understand why opposition managers are finding it such a headache to deal with the freewheeling, high-risk approach.
As a result Fabregas now ranks Albion alongside former club Arsenal and Manchester City, because he played under Pep Guardiola at Barcelona, when it comes to must-watch viewing.
“It’s the way they understand the game,” he said. “They know when to slow it down, when to quicken up when to find the right spaces. They know the right timing of when to attract players and to then accelerate.
“How many times do we see them playing short, short, short and then [Solly] March and [Karou] Mitoma attacking the spaces and scoring in behind? They understand football in a way I love and believe it should be played.”
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And Fabregas believes there are elements in De Zerbi’s play that mirror Arsene Wenger's Arsenal at their best when the midfielder was starring in north London.
He added: “It reminds me of how we played in a certain way. It’s quick, sharp football and so unpredictable. If you press them high they will get you in behind, if you press them low they’ll keep playing short and find spaces. It’s very interesting and De Zerbi is someone I’m learning so much from.”
Roberto De Zerbi guided Brighton to a sixth-place finish last season (Getty Images)And Fabregas also explained why he finds former club Arsenal so easy on the eye - despite Arteta having one issue to fix if they are to compete with City for the title this season.
He added: “Arsenal use that 3-1-3-3 formation - which is six players in front of the ball. It’s about the coach trusting their defenders to be quicker, faster and recover the ball. Then they can play a little bit more attacking football.
“But you could see the difference when [William] Saliba was playing and got injured [last season]. Mikel will tell you himself that it’s not the same way they can play.”