Arsenal Transfer News: Cesc Fabregas Insists He Wants to Stay with Barcelona; Sanogo Reveals Meeting with Wenger Led to Gunners Move

Jun 19, 2013 12:44 AM EDT

Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas continues to be bemused by the reports concerning him and a move back to the English Premier League with Manchester United and Manchester City.

The former Arsenal skipper has come out a couple of times already and said he plans to stay with Barcelona and prove himself in La Liga with his boyhood club.

Despite such statements, reports continue to link the 26-year-old with a move to England, particularly to Manchester United.

However, Fabregas again played down the suggestions, while insisting he wants to remain a Barcelona player next season.

"People talk a lot but the truth is that no-one has spoken with me," he told Movistar.

"I want to triumph in Barcelona, that club is my home and I always dreamed of playing there, so I will try and succeed there as long as I can."

Arsenal have first option on Fabregas, while also reportedly being entitled to 50 percent of any transfer fee that Barcelona would get from the midfielder's sale. This clause makes it pretty cut and dry, with Barcelona only likely to sell the player right back to Arsenal, if at all a move is made.

Arsene Wenger has spoken previously of how he expects Fabregas to return to Arsenal in the future, but not anytime soon, despite the Spanish international's struggles at the Camp Nou.

Meanwhile, Yaya Sanogo, who is set to join Arsenal on a free transfer next month, has spoken of his delight at signing for the club, while revealing how a face-to-face interview with Wenger made his decision clear on signing for the Premier League side.

Sanogo suffered a serious injury in 2010, which could have ended his career, but Wenger convinced the player of his confidence in him, which eventually led to him choosing Arsenal over Lille.

"I told my agent the choice would be made between these two clubs," he told France Football. "Lille's coach Rudi Garcia called me all the time. I hesitated a lot.

"Gilles Grimandi (former player and current Arsenal scout) came to see me from time to time at Auxerre too. One day he called me for a meeting in a Paris hotel and Arsene Wenger was there. I was very impressed.

"Wenger told me I would get opportunities and reassured me about my injury. He told me he had followed me for years. That meeting was very important and today I am an Arsenal player.

"It will be an amazing adventure. I am just eager to start in one of the best leagues in the world. It is a dream that has come true."

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