Gunners bid to tie up teenage star Fabregas with six-year deal

ARSENAL have moved quickly to secure the long-term future of teenager Cesc Fabregas as part of a three-pronged approach to cope with the departure of Patrick Vieira to Juventus.

The Gunners have offered the 18-year-old central midfielder a new six-year contract to keep him in North London until 2011 with a significant pay rise to underline his increasing value to the club.

Fabregas’s agent, Joseba Diaz, claimed the deal illustrated the high regard in which Arsene Wenger holds the Spaniard, who scored his side’s only goal in the 2-1 Community Shield defeat to Chelsea last Sunday.