Is Europe worth risking Cesc's hamstring for?

There isn't much of a story in Arsenal beating Burnley. 3-1 was a flattering scoreline for Burnley given the amount of clear cut chances that were created. Chances created mainly by Walcott and wasted mainly by Bendtner, but this isn't what interests me from this weekend.

Call me crazy but I'm not overly worried about Bendtner, I'd be more worried if he wasn't in the position to waste these chances and I'm also not worried by Walcott, he's getting match fitness and yesterday was just the confidence boost he needed.

What I am more interested in is Fabregas. He came off injured, apparently as a precaution, but precautionary or not, I'm assuming he won't be 100% for Porto midweek. As we all know this is a crucial game and a must win, so the question I'm asking is if Fabregas is not totally fit, is the Champions League worth risking the hamstring of our captain?

He could, similarly to the Aston Villa game this season, play half an hour score and set up a goal and send us through to the next round but then face an extended stay on the sidelines, making it that little bit more difficult to win the league. So is it worth not leaving our talismanic captain out of Tuesday's game, risk exiting the Champions league but have Fabregas fit for the final games of the Premier League.

Of course it's all hypothetical, Fabregas could play 90 minutes Tuesday, come through it fine and play every game left this season. However, Wenger wouldn't take the captain off before half-time if there wasn't concern for the fitness of that hamstring, so would it not be worth prioritising one competition over another and playing or saving our captain for those games, giving ourselves a realistic chance of winning one trophy this year.

It is now five years since our last trophy and to go after two trophies this season could be gambling on not winning either. Our remaining fixtures in the Premiership are well publicised and although no games in the league are easy, it could be argued we might be able to handle the next few weeks without Fabregas and so he could make sure we're in the hat in the Champions League and be back for Tottenham in a few weeks.

I dare say the other Arsenal players would also argue they would be fine without Fabregas, but it is clear how big an impact the Spaniard has on the Arsenal side and an Arsenal side without Fabregas is a much less frightening prospect for the Porto's, Hull's and West Ham's of this world. So it is a difficult decision for the manager, who knows that while there is the potential of two trophies but the risk of a recurrent hamstring problem ruling Fabregas out for a good few weeks.

However if we do need to let Fabregas rest his hamstring, I would make two points firstly I would say Porto are beatable without the captain but secondly I would say the Champions league is secondary to the Premier League, so I wouldn't risk him midweek.

You can add in to this argument that potentially Arsenal need to win a trophy to keep the captain in an Arsenal shirt next season. So what on the surface might seem like an easy decision to make, rest him if he needs resting, delve a little deeper it becomes such an important decision.

It is your typical game show gamble. You might have this prize within reach but gamble, put what you already have on the line and win the family holiday. Arsenal may have the Premiership within their reach but gamble with Fabregas and you could pick up the league title as well as the Champions League or end up throwing everything away. Is it worth the risk, or is it time to prioritise one competition over the other?

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