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'Van Persie and Nasri were the only players on my level' - Fabregas explains decision to leave Arsenal in 2011

The Spaniard says the pressure on his shoulders became too much to bear towards the end of his time at Emirates Stadium

Cesc Fabregas has revealed why he left Arsenal nine years ago, admitting to crying after defeats while naming Robin van Persie and Samir Nasri as the only players on his level "mentally and technically" at the time.

Arsene Wenger managed to snap up Fabregas as a youngster from Barcelona's famed La Masia academy in 2003, and he became the youngest player to appear for the first team in the club's history a month after his arrival in north London.