Cesc Fàbregas, the Arsenal and Spain midfield player, told Real Madrid late last night that he would not be joining them this summer. After a meeting with Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, on Wednesday, Fàbregas decided to reject the advances of the Spanish champions and informed them of his decision yesterday.
Real believed that Fàbregas was unsettled and would contemplate a move away from the Emirates Stadium in the wake of Thierry Henry’s £16 million transfer to Barcelona. But, in an interview with Marca, the Spanish radio station, the 20-year-old said of his conversation with Ramón Calderón, the Real president, and Pedrag Mijatovic, the sporting director: “I have talked with them and they made a great effort to get me to sign. It was a very difficult decision for me but with Thierry Henry leaving I feel that I can’t leave the club that has done so much for me.”
Fàbregas has blossomed at the heart of the Arsenal midfield to such an extent that he was the club’s player of the year last season and he is relishing taking centre stage after the departure of Henry. “I have a great responsibility this season and I can’t wait to get started and start trying to win things,” he said. “It made me very excited that a club as big as Madrid were interested in me and that made it a very difficult decision. It’s a chance that doesn’t come around very often but I am only 20 and I have to keep improving and I want to do that at Arsenal.”
Fàbregas also offered encouragement on the future of Wenger, whose contract runs out at the end of next season. Henry had cited the doubt over Wenger’s future as a reason behind his own desire to move but Fàbre-gas said: “I have every confidence that the manager will sign a new deal.”
Arsenal continued to plan for life after Henry by signing Bacary Sagna from Auxerre yesterday for a fee that is likely to rise to £8 million. The 24-year-old defender signed a five-year contract and identified the prospect of working with Wenger as one of the main attractions of moving to North London.
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“Arsène Wenger is an excellent manager with a fantastic record and I am really looking forward to working with him,” Sagna said. “We have youth and the fact that no one really rates us means that maybe we can surprise people. The young players want to prove what they can do and I want to prove what I can do.”
Although Sagna has yet to play for his country, the right back, who models himself on Lilian Thuram, the Barcelona defender, was called up to the France squad by Raymond Domenech for the first time last month. He was an unused substitute against Georgia.
Sagna had set his heart on a move to London, where he will provide competition for Emmanuel Eboué and Justin Hoyte and he is expected to have an opportunity to make his mark when Eboué plays for Ivory Coast in the African Cup of Nations next season.
“He is strong, quick and enjoys defending but also has a good offensive side to his game,” Wenger said. “He has a fighting spirit and will be a very good addition to our squad.”
There are likely to be several more new faces at the club this summer as Wenger attempts to build a squad capable of mounting a serious challenge for the Barclays Premier League title. Fiorentina are interested in signing Fredrik Ljungberg and the Sweden midfield player’s possible departure could push Eboué into midfield to accommodate Sagna at right back.
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Wenger has also been linked with a move for Yoan Gouffran, the 21-year-old Caen striker. But Jean-François Fortin, the club’s president, believes that Gouffran would benefit from staying in France for at least another year.
“Yoan is a young player who has not played in Ligue 1 and I am convinced the best thing for him at this stage is to stay here,” Fortin said. “Unlike us, I am not sure the interested clubs could guarantee him a stage to perform like we can. If he is given just 20 minutes at the end of a match I don’t think that is very interesting for him. I honestly believe it is too early for him to leave.” Gareth Bale picked up a thigh injury on his debut for Tottenham Hotspur last night and limped out of the 1-0 victory over St Patrick’s Athletic in Dublin. The 17-year-old left back moved to Tottenham this summer from Southampton in a £10 million deal. Robbie Keane scored the winner just before the break, and Younes Kaboul and Darren Bent, the club’s new signings, also featured.