Wenger adamant on Fabregas future

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is determined to keep hold of midfielder Cesc Fabregas amid recent interest from Spanish champions Barcelona.

Wenger has so far remained defiant over his captain's future, despite the 23-year-old telling the Frenchman he would favour a move back to the Catalan capital.

Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola is a keen admirer of the midfielder, who left Barca for Arsenal when he was just 16, and had a formal bid for the Spanish international rejected last week.

Wenger maintains that his young side are on the cusp of greatness and is not interested in looking to dismantle a team which has taken him years to build.

"What is important is that Cesc has a great World Cup and what is also important is that he comes back to Arsenal and has a great desire to do well for the club," he told Sky Sports News.

"We want to keep our best players, that is my huge determination.

"I have built this team for years, from 16-17 years of age with most of the players, and we want to continue to work with them because we feel they are very close and the team has many strengths in many ways."