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Denilson backs Nasri as stricken Fabregas' replacement

Cesc Fabregas came off injured during Arsenal's game against Barcelona © Getty Images

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Denilson has lamented the loss of Cesc Fabregas to a suspected broken leg, but the Arsenal midfielder has told Soccernet he has faith in Samir Nasri's ability to deputise for the absent captain as the club aim to complete a remarkable turnaround at Camp Nou next week.

Arsenal looked to be heading out of the Champions League when two expert goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic put Barcelona 2-0 up at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night, but a goal from Theo Walcott inspired a superb, if fortunate, response before Fabregas equalised with a penalty against the club that nurtured his talent as a youngster.

But the collateral damage was severe for Arsene Wenger as Fabregas, who was a major doubt before the game, apparently suffered a broken fibula when winning his penalty. The midfielder will undergo a second x-ray on Thursday but "fears the worst" and could miss the remainder of the season.

However, Fabregas did not feature in a 5-0 win over Porto in the previous round and Denilson hopes Nasri will reprise his starring role from a central position, with the midfielder scoring a tremendous goal against the Portuguese side and proving influential throughout the game.

"We are sad now because Cesc is a brilliant player," Denilson told Soccernet. "But I think Samir can come in to help us, and it is more important to go there and to win."

Arsenal were totally outplayed by Barcelona as Pep Guardiola's side recorded a largely unheard of 65% of possession as the away side at Emirates Stadium. Their performance was even more formidable in the first half as Arsenal struggled to contain the reigning European champions.

Manuel Almunia was called upon to make a string of fine saves in the opening 20 minutes and Denilson admits Arsenal were fortunate to get anything from the game, even if the manner of their comeback was encouraging for Wenger's side.

"In the first half they played better than us," Denilson said. "But you just continue to focus in this situation and we have one more game to go through.

"It was a great opportunity to show (the team's spirit). We started very, very badly, but in the second half we played more, passed the ball. But I think we played well in the second half."

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