Fabregas desperate to play in final

Cesc Fabregas insists he will do everything in his power to make sure that he leads Arsenal out in the League Cup final this weekend despite picking up a hamstring injury in the Gunners’ 1-0 win over Stoke City on Wednesday night.

Fabregas limped out of the victory after just 14 minutes when he felt discomfort in his hamstring and was joined on the sidelines in the second half by team-mate Theo Walcott, who sprained his ankle in a clumsy tackle by Dean Whitehead.

Gunners manager Arsene Wenger ruled Walcott out of Sunday’s Wembley showdown with Birmingham but Fabregas was to be assessed by the club’s medical staff to see if he will be fit for the clash he so desperately wants to be a part of.

Fabregas said on Twitter: “I dont know if I’ll make Sunday or not, but all I know is that from this moment to Sunday I won’t sleep if it’s necessary. I’ve waited too long to captain a final for Arsenal and I won’t give up till the last second.”

Wenger admitted that he did not know how long the pair would be out for.

The worst case scenario for the Gunners is that Walcott and Fabregas, who has struggled with hamstring problems in the past, will not be fit for the second leg of the Champions League last-16 tie with Barcelona in two weeks’ time.

Wenger said: “Theo Walcott has an ankle sprain and he is out. For how long, I don’t know, but he is definitely out of Sunday.

“Fabregas has a hamstring problem. It is impossible to see how serious (it is at the moment).”

Wenger confirmed that he will know by today whether Laurent Koscielny and Robin van Persie, who are struggling with back and hamstring complaints respectively, will be fit for Sunday’s game.

Wednesday’s scrappy win, which came courtesy of Sebastien Squillaci’s first-half header, moved the Gunners to within one point of leaders Manchester United.

Wenger was happy that his side showed the resolve to bounce back from Fabregas’ early departure to overcome a determined Stoke side.

“I think we have matured, certainly, because we won a game when we were less creative and fluent, with intelligence and calm and that is what has changed.

“One or two years ago we would have dropped points. They couldn’t make mistakes. We must take a lot of credit because of that.”