I knew I wasn't good enough for Arsenal, says Birmingham
star Larsson
Sebastian Larsson is adamant his close friend Cesc Fabregas will be
clutching a Premier League winners' medal in May, but insists he
made the right decision to leave Arsenal - because he simply was
not good enough for Arsene Wenger.
The Swedish midfielder returns to Emirates Stadium tomorrow to
confront Fabregas for the first time since his £1million move to
Birmingham City 12 months ago.
He is hoping to avoid the kind of master class from the Spaniard
that convinced him he was never going to be part of Wenger's latest
crop of youngsters that are lighting up the title race.
There were more than a few doubters about Arsenal's credentials
back in the summer.
But Larsson, who spent five years being nurtured along with
Fabregas, Gael Clichy and Nicklas Bendtner, was not one of them for
the simple reason that his education in such company gave him a
valuable insight into the potential at Wenger's disposal and his
own short-comings.
He said: "I don't regret leaving. The reason was because I was not
good enough. Simple as that. I am really grateful for my time
there. I would not have got a better education anywhere else. I
always believed in myself and I thought I was good enough, but at
the same time you look around and see all the players in
competition with you.
"I was not playing as much as I wanted to and you just have to be
honest with yourself and take the next step.
"Many people in Sweden ask me why I failed at Arsenal. I don't see
it like that at all. They helped make me the player I am today. I
had the option to stay on, but I was not getting first-team
football and I ran out of patience. I could not wait any longer. "I
had to draw a line under it and move on. That was one step in my
career. Now this is the next one."
He is expecting a flurry of text messages from Fabregas and Clichy,
but it is the blur of red and white shirts at Emirates Stadium he
fears more, from a team he believes have no peers in England,
including Manchester United and Chelsea.
On his last visit to north London, Larsson, 22, scored a
spectacular winner in the 3-2 win over Tottenham in December, so
what does he think the odds are of lightening striking twice?
He added: "I think when they are on top of their game, they are
definitely the best team in the country at the moment and there is
no one that can play the football they can. I hope they are not on
their game tomorrow.
"It is a matter of them sustaining that week-in, week out and they
have done that so far this season. I know there were a lot of
people who doubted them.
"I believe they will win the title. Even losing players to the
African Nations' Cup, they have the squad to cope with that. Of
course they are young, but they can cope with it, because they have
been there and done it from an early age."
All of that is down to one person, according to Larsson - Wenger.
From the bizarre shadow football that bemuses new arrivals, the
strict food regimes and the meticulous planning, Larsson's five
years of experience taught him that the Frenchman will never
compromise his principles.
"What's his secret? He has got the way he wants to play football
and he will not change. It does not matter what happens. He clones
people for all positions and everything is repeated over and over
until everyone has it right," added Larsson.
"As soon as he opens his mouth people listen and the reason the
players who are first choice now are doing so well is because of
the experience that Wenger makes sure they get. That is why they
are as good as they are. He will never change that."
