By Jonny Payne
Rumours linking Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas with a move to Barcelona resurfaced again this week but his manager insists there has been no contact with the European Champions.
The 22 year-old has been linked with a return to his boyhood club for the past couple of seasons and the two clubs staged a meeting before their second Champions League quarter-final according to press reports this week.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, however, has quashed any notion of ongoing discussions over the sale of the Spanish international.
“We have not been in touch with Barcelona over his future” Wenger said. “It was an official dinner which takes place before every European cup game, and of course there is a lot of talk but no official meeting about Cesc Fabregas,” he said.
Arsenal chairman, Sir Peter Hill-Wood stated earlier this week that Barcelona’s directors had assured the Arsenal board that they would not be making an approach for Fabregas in the summer.
Hill-Wood told ESPN Soccernet: ‘There was a private conversation that took place in the boardroom and assurances have been made at the highest possible level.
“Arsenal do not expect those to be broken. They said to us they are not interested [this summer].”
Barcelona sporting director Txiki Begiristain, however, has suggested otherwise. He told AS newspaper:
“If Barcelona consider it necessary for the team, they will go for him, whilst always respecting the negotiations.”
He added: “We’ve never said that we are not going to try to sign Cesc Fabregas. We’ll see what happens.”
Fabregas was also rumoured to be upset at comments made by Hill-Wood stating that Fabregas was not good enough to get in the Barcelona team.
Hill-Wood was quoted in AS Newspaper saying:
“If you want my opinion, I’m not sure he would even get in their team. Do they need him? I’m not sure they do.”
The quote could have an effect on the mindset of the Gunners captain who is regarded as one of the best midfielders in the world on current form
Wenger is, however, uncertain that his chairman made the remarks.
“I don’t know about that if that is true. I think personally that Cesc can get in any team in the world because for me he is one of the best players in the world, and I’m not completely confident that Mr. Hill-wood has said that,” he said.
England and Spain are regarded as the top two leagues in Europe, and given the new tax laws in England, many of the top players could see La Liga as a more lucrative option. Wenger, however, believes the top players should remain in the Premier League, as it is a far more competitive league.
The Frenchman said: “I cannot see anybody who has a competitive edge wanting to go to Spain. They have two good teams I confess that, the number three is 27 points behind. This weekend the players go on strike because they have not been paid – it is a league in complete disarray.”
Wenger added: “I don’t know why you want absolutely the best players who play in England to go to Spain. If you are really competitive you stay in England that’s where the competition is and that’s where the best players want to be.
“I have so many calls from Spanish players who want to join us and want to come here that I cannot understand the persistent campaign [by the media] to get the best players away from England.”
Since Arsenal’s elimination from the Champions League and their loss to Tottenham in the league on Wednesday, it looks set to be another trophyless season for the North London club, and if rumours are to believed the vultures have already begun to circle around some of the clubs top players.
As well as Fabregas – Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna and the out-of-contract William Gallas have all been linked to moves abroad, but Wenger intends to keep his young squad in tact.
The Arsenal manager said: “We want to keep this team together and improve from season to season and I believe we have made a big step forward considering last season and we want to do that again next season.”
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