Wenger believes Fabregas will return to Arsenal
Gunners boss expects former star to eventually come back from Barcelona
London: Arsene Wenger revealed on Sunday that he believes Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas will return to Arsenal one day.
Wenger said losing Fabregas to Barcelona convinced him he had to turn to English talent to improve his chances of hanging on to his future stars and building another successful Arsenal team.
The Gunners manager could not stop Fabregas returning to his beloved Barcelona in the summer of 2011, but insists the Emirates is where the 25-year-old’s heart lies — so much so that his former captain could wear the famous shirt again.
“I’m not convinced Fabregas won’t come back here one day,” Wenger said ahead of Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Barclays Premier League champions Manchester City, who could field former Arsenal players Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy and Kolo Toure.
“He’s an Arsenal man. He loves Arsenal. He watches every Arsenal game. Barcelona was his hometown where he grew up and you have to accept this, especially as Barcelona are the best team in the world.
“He won’t return in the next two or three years but, after that, maybe.
“It was the tipping point for me. It’s important that we have some consistency. When you go for a policy like we have with young players, it’s important you keep them at your club from 23 onwards. If they are ingrained with Arsenal, it is easier to keep them.”
Wenger was boosted by Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kieran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey and Carl Jenkinson, five key British stars, signing new contracts three weeks ago and sees the expected agreement with Theo Walcott to stay at the Emirates vital to further this cause.
“Theo signing would give a positive message out to our fans that the way is not exit, but stability. We’re not there yet, but it will make a difference between us and the top two teams because Wilshere is just 21, Walcott 23, Gibbs 23, Oxlade-Chamberlain just 19. They’re all good players and you need a core that represents the values of the club, like Chelsea had with John Terry and Frank Lampard.
“We had a period where we kept our players together for eight, nine years, players such as Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira. What you want are players staying together and being successful together.”
