Arsenal had no place for me: Fabregas

Cesc Fabregas has confirmed he did not join Arsenal from Barcelona because Arsene Wenger had no place for him.

The midfielder signed for Chelsea for €33m but confirmed a clause in his contract gave Arsenal first refusal and that he spoke to Wenger but that in the end, the manager decided not to proceed because Mesut Özil now occupies Fabregas’ position. It was then that José Mourinho convinced him to join Chelsea ahead of the “many” other options he had in the Premier League.

“When I decided that my time at Barcelona had ended, I looked for the best option for me,” Fabregas explained yesterday. “Arsenal was the first option, for contractual reasons. There was a clause that gave them the right to decide. We spoke to Wenger and he said that the space was very well filled by Mesut Özil and it was hard to find a place for both of us in the team.

“From there, I had other very good offers and I looked for the best in the Premier League, which is where I wanted to go.

“I spoke to José Mourinho and he told me that he wanted me there. He convinced me very, very quickly. He told me what I wanted to hear; he won me over and convinced me. It was very quick. I am very happy, very satisfied and I think it’ll all go phenomenally well.”

Meanwhile Wenger has confirmed that Costa Rican striker Joel Campbell will return to Arsenal for pre-season training before Arsenal make a final decision on whether to include him in his squad.

Campbell’s starring performance for Costa Rica in their shock win against Uruguay has been a timely reminder of the option he could provide next season following three years on loan at Lorient, Real Betis and Olympiakos.

The plan is for him to return to Arsenal after the World Cup and then, depending on pre-season and the situation with potential new signings, Wenger will decide whether another season of regular first-team football elsewhere would be beneficial. The expectation is the 21-year-old will get a chance to prove himself in pre-season. Wenger is in Brazil as a pundit for French TV. He is looking for a striker, a right back, a holding midfielder and a goalkeeper.