Fabregas gets title challenge

ARSENE WENGER has challenged Cesc Fabregas to demonstrate his commitment to Arsenal by leading the club to the Premier League title, a feat that, according to the manager, would exceed anything the player could achieve at Barcelona.

Barcelona have been campaigning incessantly over the last year to bring Fabregas back to the club where he was reared before emigrating to London in 2003 and are frustrated at Wenger’s refusal to even enter negotiations. Several of the Catalan club’s officials and players have claimed Fabregas, too, is disappointed at being denied the move.

However, Wenger, who declined to confirm reports Fabregas personally requested a transfer before heading to the World Cup in South Africa, insisted the player will remain at Arsenal and that he has no worries about his state of mind.

“I always said Cesc Fabregas will be our captain next year and that we want to keep him,” said Wenger. “Despite all the speculation last season and the whole summer, nothing has changed. Look at the length of his contract and you will see he has five or six years to go. He has always said he’s committed to the club and the best way to show you’re committed is to give your best when you walk on the pitch and he has always done that.”

It has often been claimed Fabregas has grown disillusioned at Arsenal and been seduced by the prospect of almost certainly winning major club honours alongside his many international team-mates at the Camp Nou, but Wenger maintains inspiring Arsenal to a Premier League triumph is a more noble ambition.

“It’s important we focus on the targets we have together,” said Wenger. “There’s a great attitude and spirit inside the squad and Cesc Fabregas can help us achieve these targets. He’s now 23 years old and has just won the World Cup. I believe he will grow in authority again for next season. The biggest achievement for him now is to help us win the championship.”

Arsenal have signed two players this summer – striker Marouane Chamakh and central defender Laurent Koscielny – but the manager is still hopeful of reinforcing his squad before kicking off the season at Anfield on August 14th. He refused to confirm he is seeking a goalkeeper but does hope to sign more centre backs.

“We have lost (Mikael) Silvestre, (Sol) Campbell and (William) Gallas and we have only signed Koscielny. (Johann) Djourou is coming back so you could say we have got two but we are still two short.”

Arsenal played some typically slick football last season but were swatted aside in the crunch games against Chelsea and Manchester United. However, Wenger rejected any notion his squad need expensive revamping. Instead he reiterated his trust in his relatively youthful team. “Do I think we have a team to play at the top? Looking at the players we have, I say yes. Have other clubs more money or less money? It is not important. It is whether they have better players and I think we can compete with the players we have.

“We have to remind ourselves we decided to go with a very young team three or four years ago and we have developed this team. I know that in England when you do not win the championship it’s always about buying. We are not a team that is at the end of a cycle, we are at the start of a cycle.”