Backheel Breakfast: Arsene Wenger doesn't want Arsenal fans to boo Cesc Fabregas

Chelsea star Cesc Fabregas had a lot of great years at Arsenal, and Arsene Wenger is hoping that his fans give the midfielder "the respect he deserves" during the game between the two teams this weekend.

It is a bit weird that Arsenal fans boo Fabregas at all. He left them for the club he grew up supporting, then when he wanted to come back to England, Arsenal didn't make a bid. Wenger says he doesn't regret not making a bid. Fabregas might have turned them down anyway, but he never had the chance to. So hating him is weird.

At the same time, hey, this is sports. And being a sports fan basically requires one to irrationally hate people who have never done anything wrong to them. Wenger doesn't want his fans to shout verbal abuse at an opposing player? Well, does he just not want them to show up? They don't have a good reason to hate Cesc, but do they need to respect him?

No. They should boo whoever they want, because that's the point.

In the news

Apparently Chicharito didn't celebrate his game-winning goal correctly or something. (ESPN FC)

Cristiano Ronaldo, by the way, still refuses to talk to the media. (Mirror)

Jordan Henderson has signed a new five-year contract with Liverpool. (LFC.tv)

Bayern would like to extend Pep Guardiola's contract. (Guardian)

Three of Juventus' stars were ill before the Monaco match. (Football Italia)

Bayer Leverkusen's Gonzalo Castro is out for the rest of the season. (Bundesliga)

Sampdoria's president says he's not hiring Rafa Benitez because he's too fat. (Standard)

You should be reading

Robert O'Connor on the stalled status of Armenian football. (In Bed With Maradona)

Mike Goodman on Porto, and how hard it is to defend against a team like Bayern. (Grantland)

Jonathan Wilson on Jose Mourinho, the anti-Barca. (Guardian)

Fun with transfer rumors

The section in which nothing should be taken seriously.

Southampton and Newcastle are battling it out for Jordy Clasie. (Mirror)

Inter could look into signing Erik Lamela again. (Football Italia)

Yaya Toure's agent is going to sit down with Manchester City and figure out how to get him the heck out of Manchester. (Sky Sports)

Wednesday's games

Juventus drew Monaco, 0-0, which was good enough to see them through to the CL semis.

Real Madrid found a late winner against 10-man Atleti.

Montreal Impact snagged an impressive 1-1 draw away to Club America in the first leg of the CCL final. (MLS)

You can watch Copa Libertadores highlights here. (FootballManiaChannel)

What to watch on Thursday (click for listings, all times ET)

There are four Europa League games, listings for all of them here. Our pick for the best one:

Zenit vs. Sevilla (3:05 p.m.) - Defending champs Sevilla grabbed a 2-1 win in the first leg, but Andre Villas-Boas' team will like their chances of overturning that result with an away goal in hand.