LONDON: Barcelona captain Carles Puyol is convinced Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas will move to the Nou Camp - even if the Spanish champions have to wait another 12 months to seal the deal.
Puyol spent the last six weeks with Fabregas as the pair helped Spain win the World Cup in South Africa and the defender has no doubts that his compatriot would love to return to Barca.
Fabregas, who began his career in Catalonia before moving to Arsenal as a teenager, had talks with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger prior to the World Cup in a bid to persuade the Gunners to let him leave.
Wenger remains adamant Arsenal will not sell their prize asset and there is no sign of the deal progressing at present, but Puyol still expects Fabregas to get his wish eventually.
"Cesc is a really nice guy and desperate to become a Barcelona player," Puyol told the Daily Star on Sunday.
"But he is not the sort of player to be ruthless and start using the media to get him the move that he wants.
"There are many players who would try all sorts of tricks to make it impossible to ever play for Arsenal again but that is not his style.
"I think Arsenal need to respect his class and show the same class by giving the guy who has given so much to them the move that he and his family want.
"He isn`t just being deprived of moving to the best club in the world. More importantly, he is being deprived of coming home."
Puyol believes it is Arsenal`s failure to win silverware for the last five years that has convinced Fabregas now is the time to quit the Premier League club.
"He has tried everything to win trophies at Arsenal and when he sees the success so many of his Spanish team-mates are having at Barcelona, it`s only natural that he should want to be a part of that," Puyol said.
"He is the future of Barcelona and Arsenal can`t do anything to stop that. I have just spent six weeks with him and there is only one club he wants to be at.
"The worst-case scenario is that we have to wait another 12 months for him to join us - but Arsenal, Barcelona and Cesc know that is the very worst-case scenario."
Puyol`s comments come 24 hours after Wenger attempted to draw a line under the affair.
"He`s such an important player for us, he`s our captain and we want to keep him," said Wenger. "That`s why we`re not listening to any offers," he said.
But reports from Spain suggested Barcelona president Sandro Rosell was planning to head to London on Tuesday in a bid to unblock what is being referred to as `Operation Fabregas`.
Barca are prepared to pay more than 40 million euros for the World Cup winner, says the daily Mundo Deportivo.
Fabregas "remains the objective for Barca this season even if it is not at any price", wrote the paper Sport.
Arsenal rejected a 35 million euro bid in June but that has not deterred Barcelona.
"He will arrive. Even if it is not now, it will be next year," Rosell told Spanish television on Friday.
BDST: 1909 HRS, JULY 18, 2010
