Arsenal fans have seen 4 of their best players, Samir Nasri, Robin Van Persie, Alex Song and Cesc Fabregas, all leave in £20 million-plus moves in the past 2 summers but there is one of those players Arsene Wenger is hoping will return to North London.
Fabregas moved to Barcelona, the club Wenger bought the midfielder from as a 16 year old, for £25 million in the summer of 2011 and played a main role as a peripheral midfielder at the Nou Camp scoring 9 goals and assisting 10 in 28 La Liga games.
Wenger is hoping Fabregas’ affiliation with Arsenal will one day bring the Spaniard back to the club that played a major part in his development from teenager to world class midfielder.
“I’m not convinced that he won’t come back here one day,” Wenger insisted.
“He is really an Arsenal man. He loves Arsenal and watches every game of Arsenal.
“But of course Barcelona was his home town where he grew up and you have to accept that will come into it, especially with them having the best team in the world. Fabregas would not come back in the next two, three years, certainly not, because he is linked with Barcelona. But maybe later.”
Wenger admits he would love to find another top youngster like Fabregas.
“Fabregas is an exception that I would try again, a world-class player you don’t easily find,” he said.
Maybe Wenger is just disguising his lack of transfer activity this January, don’t hold your breath Arsenal fans.
Sam Jewell