Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has given his clearest intention yet over the future of captain Cesc Fabregas by insisting that he sees the player at no other club than the Gunners and will not sell him to Barcelona, or any other team.

The Frenchman was reported in The Daily Mirror to have said that the Spanish midfielder has a contract with the club and will have to honour it. Wenger maintained that while he has spoken to Fabregas several times, he has never seen it necessary to talk to him about his future.

“I don’t need to talk about Cesc. He has a deal with Arsenal and we don’t want to sell him,” said Wenger.

“I’ve spoken with Fabregas many times – as with all the players in the World Cup – but never about his future.”

Barcelona increased the speculation surrounding the future of Fabregas after claiming that they were in South Africa to tie up an imminent deal to sign the player from Arsenal. However, the Gunners have always maintained that they are not willing to sell and expect an offer of no less than £50 million before they would even consider entering into discussions with the Catalan giants.

Wenger is also understood to be less than pleased with the La Liga champions’ approach to a player he has been building his team around for the past few years. The Frenchman is seemingly intent on making the whole affair a long drawn out one, testing the resolve of his captain and Barcelona’s desire to reunite with a player they were willing to let go as a 16-year-old.

Fabregas has already told his manager that he wants a return to the club he supported as a child and earlier yesterday said that he will not be thinking about the transfer situation while performing his international duty with Spain at the 2010 World Cup finals.

Tags: Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Barcelona, Cesc Fabregas, English Premier League, La Liga, transfer news