The victory over Parma extended Como’s impressive start to the campaign, maintaining an unbeaten streak of three wins and a draw from their opening four matches to sit third in the Serie A standings with 10 points. A central element of Fabregas’ tactical approach has been defensive contributions to the scoreline – a trait he associates with Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal – highlighted by new signing Kaiki, the Brazilian defender who netted the decisive second goal.
Fabregas elaborated on this philosophy by citing his former side as the primary example for his players to follow. ‘He has already played for the Brazil team, so he has a lot of quality and will help us a great deal. He really enjoys defending, and it showed today, he will slowly settle in to give what we are looking for in him. In modern football, it is very important to have defenders who score goals,’ he stated. ‘Arsenal won the Premier League largely with goals from defenders and on set plays. If we add this to our capabilities, then it’s an advantage.’