Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has spent much of his close season trying to keep captain and major influence Cesc Fabregas from the clutches of La Liga champions Barcelona.

Each close season throws up one seemingly interminable transfer saga, with Nicolas Anelka’s move from Arsenal to Real Madrid eleven years ago a prime example.

Fabregas’s move back to the Catalan giants, from where he joined Arsenal as a 16-year-old, has been this summer’s prime example.

Arsenal turned down a bid of between £29m and £33m, depending on your newspaper of choice for the 23-year-old midfielder in the first week of June.

This prompted outgoing Barcelona president Joan Laporta to insist that his club would eventually force the Gunners to “give in” to their demands. And, briefly, Laporta’s elected replacement Sandro Rosell kept to that party line.

But, more recently, Rosell has insisted that Barca will not pay “over the odds” for the player. And Barca’s well-publicised financial woes suggested that their prudence was entirely necessary.

Fabregas appeared to reassure Gunners’ fans when he dedicated Spain’s World Cup win to “the Arsenal players, the Arsenal fans, the manager and all the staff.”

This week, Wenger had what could easily be the last word on the topic when he said: “We have worked very hard for him to be the future of our team and that is why we are adamant about not letting him go.”

 

Wenger also hinted that Fabregas and fellow World Cup final participant, the Netherlands’ Robin Van Persie might not be fit for the Gunners’ EPL opener at Anfield against Liverpool on August 15^th.

Both players were given leave to return to the club until August 5^th after their extended World Cup campaigns. And Wenger said:

“We will see how much build-up work they will need physically and how they have recovered mentally from the World Cup.

“They might be short for the first game. That will depend on the fitness work they have done during the holiday.”

Danish striker Nicklas Bendtner, who also played at the World Cup, also looks set to miss the start of the season because of a groin injury that has persisted for the best part of a year, despite surgery last November to try and rectify the problem.

Bendtner cut short a holiday to undergo scans on the injury which dogged him throughout his time in South Africa.

Meanwhile, former strike partner Eduardo da Silva has joined Ukranian side Shakthar Donetsk for a reported £6m fee.

The 27-year-old Croatian striker struggled to recover his form after suffering a horrific broken leg against Birmingham City in February 2008.

Arsenal host their own annual Emirates Cup pre-season tournament this coming weekend, with Milan, Olympique Lyonnais and Glasgow giants Celtic providing the opposition.

The Gunners face Milan at 4.20pm on Saturday and close the tournament 24 hours later against Celtic.

The Gunners go into the tournament after convincing friendly wins over Barnet, Sturm Graz and SC Neusiedl, the latter during their annual Austrian pre-season training camp.