Fabregas: ‘Como Must Show Character, Happy to be Back at Arsenal’

Cesc Fabregas, now coaching Como, expressed his anticipation for a friendly match against his former club, Arsenal, at the Emirates Stadium. He views the game as a significant opportunity for his young Como squad to demonstrate character and adapt to a high-pressure atmosphere.

"It's wonderful," Fabregas stated to Sportitalia. "I think it's a great opportunity for us. I am the least important one here. It's lovely to come back somewhere I was very, very happy, of course, but I’m more interested in seeing how the lads play in front of 65,000 people and how we handle the atmosphere. I want to see us still play like ourselves, with character and show what we can do."

This friendly, along with another against Liverpool, is part of Como's strategy to expose their inexperienced squad to top-tier competition, especially as they have never previously qualified for European tournaments like the Champions League.

"This is the objective, we are a very young squad, many are 19 or 20 in this team, so the most important thing at this age is to experience games like this," Fabregas added. "We know we have quality and technique, but the more matches we can experience at this level, that will improve them. It’s not just about quality, but the atmosphere and passion, so at times people forget this matters a lot as well as the football."

Como has experienced a remarkable rise in the past two years, moving from Serie B to securing fourth place in Serie A and reaching the Coppa Italia semi-finals under Fabregas's guidance and significant investment from the Suwarso family.

Arsenal vs. Como Line-ups

Arsenal: Kepa, Julienne, Salmon, Gabriel, Hincapie, Lewis-Skelly, Eze, Nwaneri, Dowman, Jesus, Martinelli

Arsenal bench: Raya, Setford, Meslier, Mosquera, White, Odegaard, Gyokeres, Tzolis, Madueke, Vieira, Merino, Havertz, Calafiori, Guimaraes, Ogunnaike

Como: Butez, Kempf, Valle, Ramon, Cuoto, Baturina, Perrone, Liberali, Da Cunha, Diao, Douvikas

Como bench: Audero, Tornqvist, Vigorito, Da Silva, Goldaniga, Milla, Morata, Caqueret, Gabrielloni, Dossena, Lahdo, Carballo, Kuhn, Fadera, Chalobah