Gunners win battle to keep Fabregas

ARSENAL have won the summer-long battle to keep talismanic captain Cesc Fabregas at the club.

But he returned to the club’s open training session for club members yesterday and also lined up alongside his team-mates for the official team photo.

Former Gunners captain Kenny Sansom, who was a special guest at the event, is convinced that Fabregas is staying at the club. “I’ve had a chat with Arsene Wenger and he told me he’s going to stay, which is great news.

“It’s a good day for the club, with all the fans being here to see Cesc back here, they all look up to him and it’s great news that he’s stopping.”

Fabregas received a standing ovation from around 7,000 supporters at the Emirates.

The midfielder seemed at ease with his team-mates throughout the 90-minute session, and waved to the crowd occasionally.

Former Arsenal goalkeeper Bob Wilson, who spent 11 years at the club, is also confident that Fabregas will stay.

“Today is the clearest indication you can get that he will stay,” the 68-year-old said. “If you look at the team photo for the 2010-2011 season, he is at the front of the picture. There will be an announcement soon that tells everyone that Cesc Fabregas is going to stay at the Emirates Stadium for this season, and for maybe longer.”

Wilson criticised Barcelona’s attempts to sign Fabregas and believes the Spanish club severely undervalued the Arsenal skipper.

He added: “I think everyone have been worried and everyone have seen that the way that Barcelona has handled things has been totally wrong. People have been comparing the possibility of Cesc going with Ronaldo going last year. Real Madrid paid £80million for Ronaldo. They over-paid.

“Barcelona at this moment have offered a very paltry amount for a player who is one of the greatest players on earth.”

There is a mixture of relief and triumph at the north London club and, with the key piece of his jigsaw firmly in place, Wenger can look ahead with optimism to the new season. Losing Fabregas would have blown a hole in his plans and there have been repeated suggestions from Spain that the midfielder was open to the transfer but Wenger has consistently refused to consider it.