Steve McMahon

Despite traveling halfway around the world to South Africa, the latest football news from England is always within reach. Such is the global power of the Barclays Premier League.

English football is pretty much a staple diet for the people here. And I have got to say the appointment of Cesc Fabregas as Arsenal's new captain has got everyone buzzing.  Honestly, it is one move I have seen coming for a while.

Arsenal had endured a number of poor results, and together with William Gallas' bad press, Arsene Wenger was left with no choice but to cast him aside. Having said that, I don't think Wenger will sell Gallas during the January transfer window. Arsenal still need an experienced defender in their ranks. In any case, would any club want to buy him after all the troubles Chelsea and Arsenal went through?

With Gallas stepping down and Fabregas stepping up, it will ignite a new dynasty at Arsenal . Fabregas was the popular choice to be captain. Remember, no progress is ever made without change, and I reckon a huge wave of change will soon engulf the Emirates.

Wenger has given Fabregas so much responsibility anyway - so why not the armband as well? In football, you can never be too young for anything. You can never be too young to make your debut. Never too young to score your first goal and never too young to be captain of a team. When you are good enough, you are definitely old enough for anything.

Followers of this column on espnstar.com will remember that I said some time ago that Fabregas should be given the armband. Even at 21, Fabregas is already the second-longest serving player in the club - after defender Kolo Toure.

Soon, it will be inevitable that Fabregas will be compared to Arsenal's past captains. Tony Adams or Patrick Vieira were two of Arsenal's most celebrated and successful skippers. Adams is someone I knew well and played against during my club career. He too was appointed captain at the age of 21 and led Arsenal for a good 14 years.

Like Vieira, Adams is a leader with a massive physical presence and is vocal both on and off the pitch. He is one of the reasons why Arsenal had such a formidable backline. But Fabregas will be a different beast altogether. The Spaniard makes up for his lack of size with his big heart. I can see him leading the Gunners, not by shouting and ranting, but by example.

One can now sense an overwhelming mood of optimism running through the Arsenal faithful.

With Fabregas heralding a new era with the Gunners, perhaps talk of Arsenal's demise as a ‘Big Four' club is way too premature