Before joining Arsenal, Fàbregas had made his way into the Barcelona B team and then taken part in the FIFA U-17 World Championship in 2003, winning both the Adidas Golden Boot (for top goalscorer) and Golden Ball (for best player). Spain finished second in the tournament to Brazil.

Fàbregas made his team debut on October 23, 2003 in a League Cup tie at home to Rotherham United, and in doing so became Arsenal's youngest ever first-team player, aged 16 years and 177 days. He then became the youngest goalscorer in Arsenal's history in a later round of the League Cup, scoring from very close range in a 5–1 victory against Wolves.

However, it was not until the start of the 2004–05 season that Fàbregas started making first team appearances in matches outside the League Cup. His first match was against Manchester United in the Community Shield; he then had four successive Premier League starts against Everton, Middlesbrough, Blackburn Rovers and Norwich City. Fabregas impressed many observers[attribution needed] in his first four appearances,[citation needed] claiming a goal against Blackburn in a 3–0 victory. Soon after, he became the second youngest goalscorer in Champions League history after scoring the third goal against Rosenborg, in Arsenal's 5–1 victory.

After the departure of Arsenal captain, Patrick Vieira, Fàbregas became a first-team regular in the Arsenal midfield, making 35 appearances in the 2005–06 season.

Despite these criticisms, he was lauded for his performance in the UEFA Champions League. He was praised especially for his performance against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in the second round of the UEFA Champions League and earned further plaudits for his performance against Juventus in the quarter-finals; he scored Arsenal's first goal and set up Thierry Henry for the second. Fàbregas was highly praised by teammates and the press alike, who compared him to the likes of Wayne Rooney and Ronaldinho and even greats like Johnny Haynes and Gérson.

Fàbregas helped Arsenal's 2006–07 Champions League campaign get started on August 8, 2006, by scoring two goals in a 3–0 win over Dinamo Zagreb in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier.

Fàbregas's performances have attracted a considerable number of admirers in his homeland. In particular Real Madrid have expressed a desire to secure his services despite his long term contract at Arsenal. [2] However, on July 12, Arsène Wenger stated that Arsenal would listen to no offers for Cesc.[3] In September 2006, with six years left on his deal, Wenger offered a new eight-year deal to Fàbregas, which was signed on October 19, 2006, keeping the Spaniard at the club until he is 27 years old.

Fàbregas was a runaway winner of the Golden Boy award on 2 December 2006, presented by Italian paper TuttoSport, based on a poll of leading writers across Europe.

Recently pundit Eamon Dunphy called him the "most genuine midfielder in the Premiership" after his performance against Wigan, when he assisted Adebayor's winning goal with a lofted through ball

On March 1, 2006 Fàbregas played his first game for the Spanish senior team, becoming the youngest player capped for Spain in 80 years. He received good reviews for his début[7], contributing an assist for Spain's first goal in a 3–2 victory over the Côte d'Ivoire.

On May 15, 2006, Fàbregas was selected for the Spanish World Cup squad. In the 2006 World Cup, he came on as a second-half substitute in Spain's first two group matches, contributing an assist in their 3–1 victory against Tunisia. He then started alongside Spain's reserve players (including then Arsenal teammate José Antonio Reyes) in Spain's third group match against Saudi Arabia. He earned a starting role in Spain's first knockout stage match against France in place of Marcos Senna, but Spain lost that match 3–1.

On June 14, 2006, Fàbregas became the youngest player in Spanish history to participate in a World Cup when he came on as a substitute for Luis García after 77 minutes in a 4–0 victory against Ukraine. He was then 19 years and 41 days old.

Instead of wearing his surname Fàbregas on the back of his shirt, he chose to wear his nickname,'Cesc' during the 2006 World Cup.

Cesc was nominated for the Gillette Young Player of the World Cup 2006, although he did not win. However, on 19 January 2007, he was named in the 2006 UEFA Team of the Year, one of three Premiership players to be selected, the others being Steven Gerrard and Arsenal team-mate Thierry Henry.

At the 2003 FIFA under-17 World Cup held in Finland, Fabregas finished top scorer of the tournament despite playing in midfield, and was awarded player of the tournament.

Fabregas also admits that Manchester United's Paul Scholes is a player he'd like emulate one day, although he admits that he is not a patch on the Ginger Pele at the current moment.