Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admitted that captain Cesc Fabregas’ public commitment to the club has been a “huge lift” for everyone involved with the Gunners. The Spanish international released a statement on Friday declaring his decision to stay at the Emirates for the next season although some quarters have suggested that the midfielder had been forced by his French manager to do so.

Fabregas returned to pre-season training with the club for the first time this summer on Thursday and did not show any signs of tension as he trained and joked with team mates while posing for the team photo. The statement a day later has been hailed by Wenger to be a huge lift off the doom and gloom surrounding the club over the past couple of month.

“He is our captain, he is our leader,” Wenger said in a press conference before the game against Legia Warsaw.

“You could see yesterday in the training session how much a lift it is for everybody who loves Arsenal. When I was at the World Cup I met so many people in South Africa and the first thing I heard was ‘don’t let Fabregas go’. That means it is a huge lift for everybody who loves the club.”

Wenger insisted that he could not reveal what had transpired between him and the player whom he has nurtured in north London from the age of 14 as they were “private conversations”. However, he stressed that Fabregas’ commitment would now allow the club to focus on the new Premier League season ahead.

“The situation is as it is,” Wenger added.

“I believe it is important in my job that I do not come out with private conversations I have with the players. That would be unfair.

“But Cesc has come out today to clear the air. It was very important for us that Cesc did that clearly and that we can move on from now.

“We are one week away from the start of the season so just we want to be focused and settled now.”

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