Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, maintains that he has no regrets over his decision not to bring former captain Cesc Fabregas back to the club during the close season.
The midfielder has acknowledged recently that he wanted to return to the Emirates after leaving Barcelona but instead signed a five-year contract at London rivals Chelsea.
He will face his former side for the first time in a blue shirt tomorrow afternoon, with Chelsea currently leading the Barclays Premier League and Arsenal a further six points behind. The Spaniard has impressed since his return to England and has become an integral figure in their midfield.
Arsenal held first option on the 27-year-old, who left the London side to rejoin his first club for £30m in August 2011 having come of age under Wenger. The Frenchman has acknowledged that Fabregas would have been a first-choice player at Arsenal too, but that his past displays for the club are now water under the bridge.
"Certainly, yes [Fabregas would have been first choice]. I don't want to make a big story of that because you have to accept it once he had moved away from us, and it was the first separation which was difficult for us," said Wenger. "Once he went to Barcelona, he could have gone anywhere else after. I personally believe that the deal [with Chelsea] was done a long time ago, perhaps early 2014.
"I didn't speak to Cesc directly. I was informed that he might go to Chelsea, but when I was informed I thought the deal was already done. Everybody has the freedom to go where they want. We have to respect their decisions.
"As long as we are not in contention [for the transfer], we cannot stop people going where they want. I have also told you before why it was not a subject for us - we were in search of more up front and more defensive than creative midfielders.
"When Cesc left we bought [Mesut] Oezil to buy an offensive player. We have [Santi] Cazorla, we have [Jack] Wilshere, we have [Aaron] Ramsey, we have [Alex] Oxlade-Chamberlain, who are all offensive players. We were not in the need to buy offensive players.
"It makes sense if you just look at the balance of the team. I think that was a decision that is easy to understand."
So too might the decision of the Arsenal support to vent their frustrations at their former talisman when he steps out at Stamford Bridge in Chelsea colours. However, Wenger is hopeful that most travelling fans might spare Fabregas from an afternoon of vitriol.
"When Cesc looks back at his career he will find that Arsenal and myself had a very positive impact on his career. Nobody can dispute that," said the Arsenal manager, whose side lost 6-0 at Stamford Bridge in March - losing three of those goals inside the opening 17 minutes.
"After that, I hope that everyone has the feeling we had a positive influence and that he had a great career. That is all you can do. I have no personal animosity against Fabregas. I wish him well. He is a great player and a person and player I love. Once he left us, he left us. We are all professionals and we have to accept that."
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