Arsenal to taste life without Fabregas against Porto

Arsenal will get a taste of life without Cesc Fabregas when they take on Porto in their must-win Champions League clash at the Emirates on Tuesday. The Gunners skipper will miss the match after picking up a hamstring problem in Saturday's victory over Burnley.

The paradox for Arsenal is that if they fail just this once without Fabregas the chances are they may have to learn to live without him on a permanent basis. Another trophyless season for the Gunners could well prompt the Spanish midfielder to jump ship to Barcelona in the summer - and if they cannot to overcome the 2-1 deficit against Porto yet another route to silverware will be closed off.

Some believe that Fabregas's exit is a done deal and that he already has an agreement with Barcelona - but should Arsenal lift the Champions League then the chances of him staying in London would increase dramatically.

But despite the absence of their leader for arguably the biggest game of the year, Arsene Wenger was bullish - and indicated that it was time for his team to stop relying on the 22-year-old, who is not only the Arsenal captain but also the Gunners' top scorer and playmaker.

Announcing that Fabregas would not play Arsene Wenger said: "The absence of Cesc is not any excuse, we have enough players and a strong enough squad."

The man replacing him in the centre of the Arsenal midfield is likely to be Samir Nasri, whose performance could be an audition for the full time role.

Wenger said of the Nasri: "He is very versatile and can play defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder or on the flanks. We have a few like that and I love that."

But the scale of task facing him if he is to fill Fabregas' boots is obvious. Despite playing in midfield Fabregas has 17 goals to his name so far this season, eight more than Andrei Arshavin, who is second on the scoring charts. He also has 15 assists, meaning he has had a hand in pretty much half of all Arsenal's goals.

But Wenger's comments could indicate that the manager is becoming concerned about the influence of Fabregas on his side and wants to see fringe players like Nasri start to exert their influence.

One player who has spectacularly failed to exert his influence in the opposition penalty box is Nicklas Bendtner, who missed a hatful of chances at the weekend. But Wenger indicated that he would get the chance to redeem himself against Porto.

"I'm convinced that he is really improving at the moment. For me, it was an isolated game," said Wenger. ·