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30 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 JANUARY 2019 SPORTS Fabregas completes move to Monaco THE Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas will reunite with his former Arsenal team-mate Thierry Henry with the task of helping the Ligue 1 side Monaco avoid relegation. Fabregas will move to Monaco without a fee for now, as Chelsea will be paid via bonuses depending on his performances. The 31-year-old has signed a three-and-a- half-year-deal with the principality club, with it hoped he will play a key role in helping the 2017 Ligue 1 champions avoid relegation. He will reunite with former Arsenal team- mate and close friend Thierry Henry at Stade Louis II, with the Gunners' all-time top goal- scorer taking his first steps in management after Leonardo Jardim was sacked in October. "It is a great pleasure to join AS Monaco, a new project for me," Fabregas said in a state- ment. "The group is quality with young players and a young coach. I'm here to help the team. "I'm looking forward to starting, we have a great match to play in Marseille on Sunday. I am very excited." Fabregas' departure from Chelsea sees him end four-and-a-half years at Stamford Bridge after he joined the Blues from Barcelona in 2014, with the Spain international helping the west London outfit win two Premier League titles, the FA Cup and the League Cup. "There is no doubt Fabregas's place in the Chelsea history books is assured given his achievements over the past four-and-a-half seasons," a club statement read. "Big goals and outstanding moments of quality, all backed up by the ultimate aim, which is to be part of a successful, trophy- winning team. "Fabregas departs having helped the club achieve great success, as well as providing our supporters with some wonderful memories." In total he scored 22 goals and laid on 57 as- sists during his 198 appearances for Chelsea, the last of which came on Saturday when he bid an emotional farewell to the club's fans in the final stages of his side's 2-0 win over Not- tingham Forest in the FA Cup. "This is obviously a very good reinforcement for the team and we are convinced that his ex- perience at the highest level will bring a lot to our players on and off the field." Fabregas could be joined at Monaco by a fa- miliar face, with the Ligue 1 outfit in advanced talks to sign Chelsea forward Michy Batsh- uayi. Henry is keen to bolster his squad with his side sitting 19th in the table and five points from guaranteed safety, though they did book themselves a place in the Coupe de la Ligue semi-finals on Tuesday. A superb finish by West Ham midfielder Declan Rice - the 19-year-old's first Pre- mier League goal - earned his side a fine win and dented Arsenal's top-four ambi- tions. Rice beat Bernd Leno with a first-time shot after a good lay-off by Samir Nasri, who was making his first top-flight ap- pearance in England since August 2016. In a highly-competitive London derby, Alexandre Lacazette was denied by an excellent save from Lukasz Fabianski as Arsenal failed to score in the league for the first time since the opening day of the season. West Ham were full value for their win, with Marko Arnautovic, Rice, Nasri and Felipe Anderson all going close when the game was goalless. While West Ham move up to eighth in the table after a sixth win in nine league games, Arsenal remain fifth. West Ham edge past Arsenal