Fabregas keen to stay at Arsenal Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Robin van Persie and Cesc Fàbregas appear to have ruled out leaving Arsenal after Arsène Wenger’s team reached the semi-finals of the Champions League by beating Villarreal 4-1 on aggregate.
There had been fears that Van Persie could allow his contract to run out at the end of next season and Fàbregas has been linked with a £40 million transfer to Barcelona. “Arsenal want to extend my contract,” Van Persie said. “I’m positive about that. I want to extend it as well.”
Wenger is so focused on winning a trophy that the Arsenal manager has shelved all contract talks with his players until the summer. Van Persie, 25, had been stalling on signing a new contract because he wanted assurances that the club would match his ambitions.
Now that Arsenal have reached the semi-finals of the Champions League and the FA Cup, the Holland forward appears to have his answer. “We can call ourselves one of the best four teams in Europe,” he said. “That was my target. I wanted to do it with Arsenal.”
Fàbregas, the Arsenal captain, has also underlined his commitment to the club by insisting that he has no plans to return to Barcelona after leaving Catalonia for North London in 2003. Two weeks ago, Joan Laporta, the Barcelona president, angered Arsenal by claiming that he wanted to see Fàbregas rejoin his club.
“I expect my future to be at Arsenal,” Fàbregas, 21, said. “I only want to play football with nothing distracting me. The manager [Wenger] has been an influential person for me. I have a lot of respect for him.”
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Arsenal will play at the new Wembley Stadium for the first time tomorrow in the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea and Van Persie says that their opponents’ defensive problems — Guus Hiddink’s team have conceded seven goals in their past two matches — could be a crucial factor. “Of course we can beat them,” he said.
“Earlier in the season we showed we can do them damage [Arsenal won 2-1 at Stamford Bridge]. It will be a tight game again.”
Arsenal’s own problems increased on Wednesday when Kieran Gibbs, the left back, suffered a groin injury during the 3-0 quarter-final second leg win over Villarreal.
