Fab fuming after Barca win

Cesc Fabregas was scathing about both Barcelona defender Rafael Marquez and referee Terje Hauge following Arsenal’s Champions League final defeat in Paris.

The Spanish teenager spent six years at the Nou Camp before moving to Arsenal, but there is no doubt where his loyalties now lie.

Fabregas said: “You have to be fair in football. You have to be honest and well done to you if you’ve won, but you have to win in a good way.

“And then you see a player like Marquez who is kicking Thierry (Henry) all the time or trying to hit him all the time from behind.

“And then Jose (Antonio Reyes) goes to him to get the ball and he just makes theatre of it and goes on the floor to lose time.

“I don’t like to be in the position of saying things about the referee but maybe it’s true. If you look at the first goal for Barca, it’s clearly offside.”

Fabregas though believes Arsenal proved a point against the much-vaunted stars of Barcelona, and now aims to turn his attention to the World Cup after being picked in the Spain squad.

He added: “We have a young team which showed that Barcelona are not perhaps that much better than everyone else. We have an average age of maybe 24 and they have big players like (Samuel) Eto’o and Ronaldinho but we showed if we are 11 against 11, the result is unsure.

“It definitely sets us up for next year. The experience is always here and lives with you. I have to accept at my age that a lot of times I will lose and a lot of times I will win. This time I lost but I’m sure I will be here soon again.

“All I want to think about now is the World Cup. It’s an important tournament for me.”

Fabregas’ fellow Spaniard Manuel Almunia, who came on when Jens Lehmann was sent off in the 18th minute, believes Arsenal now have to translate their European form to the Premiership.

He said: “We have shown to everyone that Arsenal can do big things in Europe. Now we have to improve our performance in the league next season to challenge Manchester United and Chelsea for the title.

“We had the game in our hands but Barca is a great team and playing with 10 players for made it very difficult for us.”