Cesc Fábregas

Along with Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique, Fabregas emerged from the Barcelona cantera but it is under the guidance of Arsene Wenger at Arsenal that he has become one of world football's most sought-after players. Barcelona, and his former colleagues, have mounted a relentless campaign to convince him to return to Camp Nou but Fabregas remains one of the Premier League's leading players at present.

Unlike the aforementioned Messi, Fabregas left hometown club Barcelona at the age of just 16 when joining Arsenal in 2003 and it was a gamble that quickly paid off. After the club had gone unbeaten in 2003-04, Wenger could ignore the talent of Fabregas no longer and his stunning emergence the following season even convinced his manager to sell captain Patrick Vieira, such was his faith in the Spaniard who took the famous number four shirt.

An FA Cup final victory in 2005 aside, Fabregas may have been starved of silverware in North London but he is already regarded as one of the club's modern-day greats and has accumulated well over 200 appearances. The 2007-08 Young Player of the Year, Fabregas was installed as Arsenal captain in November2008 and has thrived in Arsenal's free-flowing formation as its creative lynchpin.

Fabregas also hit a rich seam of form in the 2009-10 season when operating in a more advanced role, scoring 19 goals in all competitions. He produced the assist for Andres Iniesta's winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final to become a world and European champion with Spain.

Strengths: A quite superb passer of the ball who possesses both excellent vision and the ability to dictate the pace and tempo of a contest. Has a strong character and mentality to complement his technical excellence and has become more potent in front of goal.

Weaknesses: Fabregas is largely impeccable but a lack of real pace is noticeable.

Career high: Poking the ball through for Andres Iniesta to score the winning goal in the World Cup final in 2010.

Career low: Defeat to his former club Barcelona in the final of the 2006 Champions League.

Style: Composed, cultured, creative, a wonderful passer.

Quotes: "His vision is comparable to [Michel] Platini, and that is a compliment. He is at the start of his career and we know that Platini has finished his. Cesc has it all in front of him, but he has a vision and he will develop still more." Arsene Wenger, September 2007.

Trivia: Fabregas became Arsenal's youngest ever player in any competition on October 28, 2003 when appearing in a League Cup tie against Rotherham aged just 16 years and 177 days.

Sergio Asenjo

Sergio Asenjo Andrés, was born 28 June 1989. He is a Spanish footballer who plays for Atlético Madrid, as a goalkeeper. Born in Palencia, Castile and León, Asenjo began playing in Real Valladolid junior teams, and soon emerged as one of the most talented players in the club. He started the 2007–08 season playing for the reserve team, in the third category, which had just barely avoided relegation the previous campaign. However, poor performances by both first team goalkeepers, Frenchman Ludovic Butelle (on loan from Valencia CF) and veteran Alberto, gave him a chance to make a debut in the top flight, and his first appearance proved a very successful one, as he kept a clean sheet in a 2–0 home win over Villarreal CF, on 12 December 2007.

Following great performances, where he conceded one goal in his first five matches, Asenjo retained his starting job, becoming the youngest league goalkeeper that season. In January 2008, he signed his first professional contract, agreeing to extend his former youth contract with Valladolid for another three years, while also increasing his wage.

Asenjo would eventually play in the remaining league matches, retaining his position throughout 2008–09. However, he also missed three months of action, due to a knee injury.

On 8 July 2009, Asenjo transferred to Atlético Madrid for a fee of €5 million, signing a four-year contract. He started the season as first-choice but, after some costly mistakes - and a change of coach in November 2009 - lost his position to younger David de Gea.

In 2006, Asenjo was selected to the Spanish under-17 national team, as it took home the bronze in the 2006 Under-17 European Championship, with Asenjo as a key player, starting all of their matches.

He was again called up, for the 2007 Under-19 European Championship. In the qualification rounds, his role in the team was quite insignificant, as backup. But this changed in the semifinal against France, replacing the injured first-choice. After 0–0 in regulation time, the game was decided in a penalty shootout. Asenjo saved two, as Spain progressed to the final match, where he started against Greece with another excellent display, as Spain won 1–0 to be crowned European champions.

Asenjo made his U-21 debut in August 2008, and was first-choice at the 2009 European Championships; he also played at the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt.