Fabregas takes over plane PA to say sorry to fans

Arsenal fans hoping that all the talk about Cesc Fabregas and his much mooted move to Barcelona is just hot air will not have had their minds set at ease by the Spaniard's latest pronouncements on the state of the Arsenal team in which he plays.

In the immediate aftermath of the Gunners' abject defensive display against Porto, Fabregas used the world "schoolboy" to describe aspects of the performance. And he was obviously still annoyed hours later as he felt obliged to apologise to the fans sharing the team's flight back to London.

The 22-year-old took control of the plane's PA system to make his feelings known. It is not clear if he began the broadcast by announcing "this is your captain speaking" but the Independent reports that he told passengers: "I want to apologise for losing the game." A gesture that prompted a round of applause from those on board.

Back on terra firma Fabregas pointed out a few home truths about why Arsenal have failed to win a trophy for five seasons. "Sometimes we make mistakes that at the top level, you pay for," he said. "It also happened against Chelsea and Manchester United and we have to try to find the solution to these problems because it is costing us many, many things.

"The other top teams don't make these mistakes as often as we do," he lamented.

His frustration is clear and Mark Fleming of the Independent contrasts the position of the Spaniard with that of another young superstar.

"Fabregas had witnessed 24 hours earlier the lavish praise heaped on Wayne Rooney for his display for Manchester United at San Siro. Now he had to accept another occasion on which Arsenal had failed to meet expectations. One exceptionally talented young man was accepting the plaudits; the other was having to apologise for the failings of others," he writes.

Elsewhere, observers are now lining up to take aim at Arsene Wenger's once-lauded youth policy, blaming the French manager's unswerving faith in youth for Arsenal's failure to develop into a trophy-winning side. "It is either individual errors or it is a collective uncertainty against stronger opponents, but the common denominator here is a lack of experience," comments Oliver Kay in the Times.

And Simon Cass in the Mail offers a frank assesement of the situation. "Unless Arsene Wenger can find the solution to Arsenal's failure to deliver on the big occasions he may lose one of the world's best midfielders this summer." ·