Wednesday, August 9 2006 17:17 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Zagreb: Cesc Fabregas gave Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger plenty of reasons to be cheerful after a sparkling two-goal performance in the Gunners 3-0 Champions League romp over Dinamo Zagreb. AGREB

As Wenger contemplates the imminent departure of Ashley Cole and possible transfer of Jose-Antonio Reyes, he can console himself that his best young prospect Fabregas is happy in London.

Fabregas has attracted admiring glances from Real Madrid after an impressive World Cup, but the 19-year-old has gone on record as saying that he wants to stay with Arsenal for the foreseeable future.



Tuesday's match was Fabregas' 100th senior appearance for the Gunners, and he marked it with two sublimely taken goals that indicates he is ready to start weighing in with important goals from midfield as well as steel and guile.

And Fabregas revealed that he feels physically stronger than ever before as the Premiership season approaches.



"Every season you try to get better and better," Fabregas said.

"I feel physically stronger than last year," he said.



"If you feel stronger then you can go forward and you can defend. My target is to try to play the same way as last season and defend better," he said.



Fabregas struck in the 63rd and 79th minutes, his goals coming either side of a 65th minute effort from Robin van Persie.

"It was very difficult, they made it very hard," Fabregas said.

"I think we did very well in the second half," he said.

Only a miraculous performance from Dinamo in the second leg of this final qualifying tie match at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium in a fortnight will deny Wenger's men a place in the group stage.

Fabregas set Arsenal on their way after rifling in a low shot from a pass by Dutch World Cup star van Persie.

Van Persie made it 2-0 just over a minute later, latching on to a long ball from Alexander Hleb and burying an angled shot beyond Dinamo keeper Ivan Turina.

Fabregas completed a superb night's work with a magical individual goal, surging into the Dinamo area and drilling home an unstoppable shot on 79 minutes.

Victory was all the more impressive for the Gunners as it was achieved without several key players, including skipper Thierry Henry, Freddie Ljungberg and England international Ashley Cole.

Wenger's decision to leave Reyes on the bench is also bound to fuel speculation that the Spanish international could be leaving London for Real Madrid.

Reyes has been the subject of constant reports linking him to a move back to Spain, and British newspapers carried photos of the unsettled player posing in a Real Madrid shirt on Tuesday.

By leaving Reyes on the bench, Wenger ensured the midfielder won't be cup tied for the remainder of the competition should Real decide to mount a formal transfer raid.

The absence of so many regulars was hardly felt by the Gunners however as they quickly settled into their familiar, neat passing game.

With the exception of one or two minor forays into the Arsenal box, Dinamo were left chasing shadows for much of the opening 45 minutes as last year's beaten finalists monopolised possession.

For all their domination, Arsenal were unable to make it count however and clear goalscoring chances were thin on the ground early on.



Van Persie looked the man most likely to break the deadlock, but saw an eighth minute free-kick fly high and wide and an 18th minute 25-yarder deflected and saved by Turina.

New signing Tomas Rosicky also caught the eye, the Czech international surging forward with purpose and unsettling the Croatian side's back four.

Another member of Arsenal's World Cup contingent, Togo's Emmanuel Adebayor, also looked in touch, testing Turina with a long-range shot that flew wide.

But it was a different story in the second half and when Fabregas sent Arsenal 1-0 up the floodgates opened as the Croat resistance crumbled.