Arsenal issue Fabregas ultimatum to Barca

Barcelona have two weeks to meet Arsenal’s £40 million asking price for Cesc Fabregas or else the Spanish midfield star will stay put at the Emirates, according to reports in the British press.

“Arsenal have let it be known that unless a deal for Cesc is sorted by the end of the month then he will stay in London," a top Barcelona source has told 'The Sun'.

Although Arsenal never wanted to sell their captain,they were prepared to reluctantly accept Cesc’s request to return home, the report added. 

However, the Gunners want to bring an end to long-running saga involving their troubled skipper. 

“They’ve insisted they have been very fair to Cesc and Barcelona and this situation is not healthy for them and has to end," the source was quoted as saying.

Arsenal's patience is also running thin and wish to draw a line under this matter at the start of next month.

“We understand there is no way they will sell Cesc for what we offered but the decision rests with our president Sandro Rossell,” according to the Barcelona source. 

The Arsenal squad returned from their pre-season tour of Asia on Sunday and Wenger will assess Fabregas on Monday morning before deciding if he is ready to return for Saturday’s friendly against Cologne.

Wenger hopes that Fabregas will be back in an Arsenal shirt this week and seeks a quick ending to the uncertainty that has engulfed his captain.

Barcelona have already had one bid of £27 million rejected.

“For us it is important that the team settles psychologically as quickly as possible because we have a tough start,” Wenger told 'The Guardian'.
 
“We play most of the big clubs away in the first half of the season. We have to stop at some stage. I hope we can close that (the Fabregas situation) very quickly in our favour.”
 
Fabregas is still yet to train with the full squad following a hamstring injury but, after Cologne on Saturday, there is the Emirates Cup on July 30-31 and a final pre-season friendly against Benfica on August 6.
 
“We will have to see how far he is with his injury,” said Wenger. “He is not back in full training. I will have to assess him.”
 
Wenger, though, is adamant that Fabregas is very much part of his pre-season plans.

“Yes, of course,” he said. “The problem is we face speculation from everywhere but my target is the same, to keep the players and my desire to fight for that is the same.”
 
While Wenger has accepted that he could allow Fabregas to leave if he is unhappy and Barcelona match Arsenal’s valuation, he is adamant that Samir Nasri will stay.
 
During matches in Asia over the past week, Nasri has shared the usual Fabregas position behind a main central striker with Aaron Ramsey. Nasri is the subject of interest from both Manchester City and Manchester United.

Meanwhile, Nicklas Bendtner and Manuel Almunia are also in talks with other clubs about a potential move. Wenger, though, has no plans to recruit a new left-back following the departure of Gael Clichy, with Kieran Gibbs almost certain to start the season in that position.

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