Few players can say they are a legend at their club before they reach their mid-20s, but one of the exceptions is plying his trade in Premier League. And I’m not talking about Cristiano Ronaldo or Wayne Rooney.

Down at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal have a youngster who has been a revelation since he made a move from the Mediterranean coast to north London back in 2003.

At the age of 16 that has to be a big move to make, especially when the club you’d just left was Barcelona, but Francesc Fabregas Soler – to give him his full name – has developed into one of the world’s best midfielders under the guidance of manager Arsene Wenger. In his five seasons at Arsenal, he has proved in a number of games that he is more than a replacement for Patrick Vieira, with a vision and maturity that belie his youth, creating and scoring vital goals in the Premier League and Champions League.

Fabregas had a number of doubters when Wenger first played him in the Community Shield game against Manchester United in 2004 after injury to Vieira, but he went on show he was a more than able player while playing alongside the French international. It’s a shame that Wenger didn’t give him a runout in the league during the unbeaten season of 2003-04 so he could earn a title winner’s medal, especially after impressing in the Carling Cup.

To date, Fabregas’s only trophy win was the 2005 FA Cup after Arsenal defeated Manchester United in the final at the Millennium Stadium, and while every Gunners fan hopes he will remain an Arsenal player for a long time, it would be a tragedy for him to leave north London without something bigger for the hard work he’s put in over the years.

While many youngsters get the opportunity to hone their talents in the reserves or on loan at other clubs, Fabregas showed his ability in training and in the Carling Cup – the competition Wenger has regularly used to deploy teams made up of youngsters to give them an opportunity to play competitive football. Year on year, the young Spanish international has added to his game. In 2005-6 he showed that was a different player to the hard-tackling mould of his predecessors, becoming a playmaker with an excellent passing ability. In 2006-7 he started to play with a more aggressive style and earned a place in the UEFA Team of the Year. He was also arguably the best young player in the league.

Last season he found his scoring touch in addition to creating goals as Arsenal got to grips with losing Thierry Henry to Barcelona. He netted 13 goals in 45 games - six of those coming in Arsenal’s 10 European matches. As the club’s strikers struggled with lengthy injuries, Cesc’s goals were vital but still not enough to maintain the team’s place at the top of the league.

Fabregas is a player everyone would want to have in their side. Even coming off the bench, he can have a massive impact on the whole team’s performance, as he has showed with his brilliant substitute appearances for Spain at Euro 2008.

He’s young and can play 50 games a season while maintaining his ability to find team-mates across the pitch with his passing ability. He also scores goals and leads by example. He’s been to the final of the Champions League, final of the European Championships, final of the FA Cup and League Cup, and if he continues to play as well as he has for Arsenal, he’ll win the Premier League as well.

With the end of Euro 2008 upon us and the start of the new Premier League season around the corner, Cesc Fabregas is the one player that Arsenal cannot live without.