Arsene Wenger has called for stories about the future of Cesc Fabregas ‘to stop’ as the Arsenal boss is preparing his side for another assault on the Premier League (13/2 Winner).

The Gunners chief spoke out after watching his side comfortably defeat League Two Barnet 4-0 in their opening pre-season game on Saturday. And he called for questions regarding Barcelona’s summer-long pursuit of his captain to come to an immediate end by stressing for the umpteenth time that he is going nowhere.

“There was a lot of unneeded talk. It is not pleasant to read that every day. Now, the story has to stop,” Wenger said.

“Cesc is our captain, he is so important to us and we want to keep him, that is why we were not listening to any offers.

“It was not a problem of money, just the desire to keep him at the club.”

Barcelona (4/5 La Liga Primera Outright) president Sandro Rosell virtually conceded defeat in his efforts to sign Fabregas at the end of last week by claiming they would not offer silly money to try and land their former youth player after having an initial £30million bid snubbed.

Wenger must wait to see if Fabregas, who is enjoying a break following his World Cup winning exploits, pleads to be allowed to leave on his return to the Arsenal squad for the Emirates Cup on July 31/August 1. However, the Frenchman does not believe the player will cause any problems for him.

Wenger added: “We have shown our love and care for Cesc since the start.

“I believe Cesc loves the club, has shown his attachment to the club many times and I am very confident the story will end there.

“We want Cesc to be part of our club next year, and that is it.”

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