Cesc Fàbregas

Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas i Soler (born 4 May 1987 in Vilassar de Mar, Barcelona Province, Spain) is a Spanish central midfielder who captains the English Premier League club Arsenal and plays for the Spanish national team.

Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Arsenal in September 2003, aged just 16 years. He did not feature much in his first season for The Gunners, but following injuries to key midfielders in the 2004–05 season, his playing time increased. Before long, he had established himself as Arsenal's starting central midfielder and playmaker. He went on to break several of the club's records, earning a reputation as a technically gifted player.

In international football, the Spaniard's national career began when he represented the winning Under-17 side at the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland. As a result of his club performances, he was called up to the senior squad in 2006. He has played in the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008, where he helped Spain to become eventual winners in the latter.

From promising youngster to the heartbeat of the Arsenal side - Cesc has come a long way since joining the club as a 16-year-old in September 2003.

Likeable and level-headed off the pitch, Cesc is the complete midfielder on it. He has always been tigerish in the tackle and blessed with wonderful technique and vision, but Cesc added a new dimension to his game last season - goals, and plenty of them. He netted seven times in his first nine games and, although that scoring rate fell away, Cesc still ended up with 13 in all competitions. There were some belters too, including long-range efforts at Tottenham and Milan.

To nobody's surprise, the fulcrum of Arsène Wenger's side walked away with Arsenal.com's Player of the Season award for the second successive year. He has plenty of admirers outside Emirates Stadium too, not least among his peers - they voted him PFA Young Player of the Year.

The Spaniard first came to prominence at the Under-17s World Cup when he walked off with awards for best player and top scorer. Soon after arriving from Barcelona he became Arsenal's youngest ever player and scorer. By the time he had left his teenage years behind, Cesc had surpassed 150 appearances for the Club.

Of course, the 21-year-old is now also a fixture in Spain's national squad and played a major role in his country's Euro 2008 triumph. Cesc came off the bench to devastating effect in the group stage and netted a penalty shoot-out winner against Italy in the Quarter-Finals - his first spot-kick as a professional.