Denilson confident Fabregas will stay
Sao Paulo loanee Denilson believes captain Cesc Fabregas will remain with Arsenal despite the on-going speculation regarding his future.
European champions Barcelona have been linked with a move for the Gunners' captain for the past two years, and reports claim that the Catalan giants are readying one final bid for the La Masia youth product.
GEAR:Save 10% on new Arsenal home and away kits. Free delivery on orders over £50
The North London side have set a £40 million valuation for the 24-year-old, a price that the Blaugrana have yet to meet.
And the on-loan Brazilian believes Fabregas will turn down the overtures of a return to his hometown club in favour of staying at Emirates Stadium.
“I think it's very important because the fans, the staff at Arsenal, everyone loves Cesc and I think he's going to stay,” Denilson told Sky Sports News.
The 23-year-old joined Arsenal from Sao Paulo in 2006 and requested a loan move back to his former club in order to be closer to his three-year-old daughter.
However, he admits that he already misses London and, despite finding first-team opportunities hard to come by, hopes to be back with the Arsenal squad when his loan deal expires.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
“I miss London, I miss Arsenal. I lived there for five years; it's a long time for me. But I think next season I'll be back,” he added.
Denilson has also leapt to the defence of manager Arsene Wenger, who has come under fire following a sixth season for Arsenal without a trophy.
“Everyone knows Arsene Wenger is a top man and a top manager,” he said.
“He's not just a coach, he's like a dad. It's brilliant for me and for the players because he's helped the players.”
Furthermore, the Frenchman has been openly criticised about his reluctance to spend big in the transfer market, despite rival sides’ intention to splash the cash in order to bring success to their respective clubs.
Denilson, however, feels Arsenal don’t need to spend big in order to contend with their top-four rivals for silverware.
"If you see Manchester [United], Chelsea
buying many players, Manchester City
as well, they pay much money for the players but Arsenal don't need that," he said.
"We just need to play to show. This season I'm sure 100 percent they can win the trophies."
Nick Moore is a freelance journalist based on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. He wrote his first FourFourTwo feature in 2001 about Gerard Houllier's cup-treble-winning Liverpool side, and has continued to ink his witty words for the mag ever since. Nick has produced FFT's 'Ask A Silly Question' interview for 16 years, once getting Peter Crouch to confess that he dreams about being a dwarf.
‘After Manchester City’s recent form, maybe they’re the underdogs against Manchester United!’ Former Red Devils defender on this weekend’s derby
‘Arteta, Alonso, Emery, me… none of us were physical players – we needed the understanding of the game. That probably helped us move into management’: Premier League boss reveals reasons for natural career progression