Is Cesc allowed to leave on a free transfer next season? I don’t think so, do you? If Barcelona come back next season, obviously after all their squad members take it in turns to drag Cesc’s name through the Arsenal mud

‘We’ve got Cesc Fabregas’ literally, at least for the moment. Our skipper has finally broken his long silence and has confirmed that he is staying for the season.

Cesc said:

“Firstly I would like to apologise to all the Arsenal fans for not speaking sooner about my future but I have not known what I was going to do until this moment,”

“I cannot deny that joining a club like Barcelona was not an attractive move for me. This was the club where I learnt my football, it is my home town where my friends and family are and a club where I have always dreamed of playing. There are not many players in the world who would not want to play for Barcelona.

“I have had many conversations with Arsene Wenger both in person and over the phone over the last few months and although the content of those conversations will remain private, the conclusion is that Barcelona have had two formal offers rejected by Arsenal.

“I am a professional and I fully understand that it is Arsenal’s prerogative not to sell me.

“I owe a lot to the club, manager and the fans and I will respect their decision and will now concentrate on the new season ahead with Arsenal.

“I can assure all the fans that now the negotiations have ended I will be 100 per cent focused on playing for Arsenal. I am an Arsenal player and as soon as I step out on to the pitch, that is the only club I will be thinking about.

“I am looking forward to the start of the season and putting this speculation behind me.”

Pretty much as we expected right? No new revelations in there really. Basically a shortened version would be. He wanted to leave, Barcelona are skint and Arsenal are not interested in selling their captain for peanuts. Pretty simple isn’t it? It didn’t need the whole Xavi, Puyol, Pique, Rossell and Laporta circus. It could have been done in one or two phone calls, without anyone knowing but hey, this is Barcelona we are dealing with. The club that is more than a club, they are a club and a bunch of wankers. Pardon my french.

I am hearing plenty of Cesc is staying for one more year but what exactly does that mean? Is Cesc allowed to leave on a free transfer next season? I don’t think so, do you? If Barcelona come back next season, obviously after all their squad members take it in turns to drag Cesc’s name through the Arsenal mud and they fax through a bid of £12.85 pence then the situation will remain the same.

Arsene Wenger does not treat his players as purely assets, so as much as he would love to keep Cesc until the end of his contract he respects his players decision to leave the club. Cesc has given his all to Arsenal ever since he walked through the doors at Highbury as a fresh faced 16 year old and if Arsene cannot convince his captain to stay on then he will let him go but not for anything less than his worth. So just saying that Cesc will leave next season is rubbish, there are conditions that have to be met, if they are not met then we will be in exactly the same situation as we find ourselves in August 2010.

At least the Arsenal fans seem to be fully accepting of our current captain. He came out to a huge show of support from the Arsenal fans, something I am sure the Barcelona hierarchy would have not enjoyed very much.

To be honest this is not really hot off the shelves news is it? Arsenal football club already said Cesc is going nowhere back on June 2nd. Our first public statement on the matter and a statement that was powerful and to the point. I was hoping that the club would not go back on that and that has proved to be the case. Well done to the management team for not cracking under the constant bad breath from the Barcelona employees, the media, the player. We are a massive club who should be respected and treated as one. Barcelona shouldn’t be able to ask us to jump and we say how high.

It would have been nice for Cesc to have come out today and declare his love for Arsenal and commit his long term future to us but that was not going to happen from our erm.. captain. This whole captain jumping ship lark is getting a little tiresome as well. We haven’t had a captain stay at the club for the remaining of his years since Tony Adams. I know football is changing and players move around more than ever but it would be nice if we could hold onto our ‘leaders’ from now on.

Don’t get me wrong here. I fully understand why Cesc wants to go back home. If I was good enough to play for Barcelona and Arsenal came calling then obviously I would want to go to the club that I have supported all my life. That is normal.

That being said, I would not even consider stripping Cesc of the captaincy for the coming season. Cesc has given his all for the club since he arrived as a fresh faced 16 year old. He leads by example and is respected by the rest of the squad. As long as that is the case then he needs to remain has the captain, at least for this season. Our squad needs continuity.

Ah, shhhhh listen carefully *eyes raised, finger pointed upwards* all I can hear is the sound of the breeze against the trees. I can’t hear even the faintest sound of Barca DNA. squeals of hearts in Barcelona. The talk can finally end. SHUT THE F**K UP BARCELONA.

We can continue with our season without this disruption. Hopefully Arsene will pull out one or two new signings and we can tear up the league. Cesc can dance around the Emirates at the end of the season holding the Premier League trophy then talk about his DNA transplant. Colin Lewin injecting Cesc in his left bum cheek with the super all action Arsenal DNA whilst Xavi and co cry their eyes out in that other place. In fact I am fed up saying that name.

On a more serious note, this coming season is vital for Arsenal and the squad. Even if Cesc does leave the club next season it has to be with a major trophy under his and our belts. It would not be right for a player of Cesc’s talent to come and go without major silverware. I know that silverware will come flooding in anytime soon but Cesc, Wenger, the players and even the tea lady should be doing all they can for this coming campaign.

There seems to be plenty of ex Arsenal players who cannot wait to stick the boot in to our club and to be honest, I have lost plenty of respect to many of those who I worshipped during the Highbury years but amongst all the doom and gloom we still have a few who stand by the club and publicly support the journey that we are on. The likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Charlie George, Sammy Nelson, Thierry Henry and Robert Pires have always stood by the club during the highs and the lows. Another former great Bob Wilson has also backed Arsenal in the face of negativity.

This time Bob has said what I am sure Gazidis and Wenger really think of that other club.

Wilson said:

“I think they have shown complete disrespect throughout the whole episode. They know as well as anyone else that if you are going for the best players in the world then you have to have respect and the bottom line of Barcelona’s situation is that they can’t afford to buy him for what he is worth. He is worth a minimum of £50million and Barcelona are struggling financially.”

That’s it Bob, you tell it as it is. I can see Arsene and Ivan nodding in the background. The difference is Arsenal are a club of integrity and decency and do not need to state that in public. If there is one club that is more than a club then it is Arsenal.

Happy birthday to Robin Van Persie. Did I tell you that I love that guy. He has said how much he believes in our club and our way of playing the game. I like this part the most.

Van Persie said:

“I have never stopped believing in Arsenal, I love this club, this is my seventh year now. Arsenal gave me a chance to develop into a good player and I want to repay the Club and the fans and everyone with trophies.

Hopefully we can get a full season out of him because once we do then everyone else will be in big trouble. He showed his quality when he was on the pitch last season. The only problem was that he was not on the pitch as much as we would have liked. At 27, he is no longer a youngster. He should be approaching his peak. Perhaps his number 10 shirt will give him the extra powers to stay fit for longer. After all the number 10 shirt should be for midfielders and strikers, ok Gallas?

Before I go, I would like to apologise for a few things. Firstly I didn’t manage to get anything posted yesterday because my only available slot was during the members day session and I decided to watch all of it instead of writing. Secondly, apologies for some of the aggression embedded in today’s late post, this is because I wrote another version of this earlier in the day. I was on the verge of crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s until my laptop decided to turn itself off. I don’t think I have had so much rage since Birmingham City’s late equaliser last season [save] what makes it worse is the fact that I decided not to save what I was writing during any part [save] of the article. Fuming, absolutely fuming. [save]

If I have missed anything out then tuff. I am not repeating myself any longer. You got it?

Back tomorrow.

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