Is Wenger delaying the inevitable?

So it turns out that the Fabregas - Barcelona rumour has become THE transfer rumour of the summer. And as expected, it appears as though Arsene Wenger has shut the door on any possibility of Barcelona signing the Gunners midfield maestro, Cesc Fabregas.

No one rational would have expected otherwise but it would help if we actually heard from Fabregas himself and found out if it is indeed the midfielder's dream to join the Catalans. In fact very players can boast to have as many admirers in Barcelona as Fabregas does and I'm not referring to the fans. Barcelona stars, Xavi Hernandez, Carles Puyol and Gerrard Pique have all openly spoken of their admiration for Fabregas with the latter two even going as far as putting on a Barcelona jersey on Fabregas during the Spanish team's recent World Cup celebrations.

With such intense lobbying from Fabregas' Spanish teammates in the Barcelona team, it is worth speculating if the Arsenal captain himself has privately admitted of his desire to return to the Nou Camp. After all, it is pretty uncommon to see these Barcelona players openly lobby for a player to join the club. Even rumours of Fernando Torres or Javier Mascherano joining the Catalans hasn't generated a single response from anyone in Josep Guardiola's side.

So yes, maybe Fabregas himself needs to come out in the open and set the record straight. And if the rumours are true, Arsene Wenger better start hunting for an able replacement now as there would be little point in trying to constantly scuttle the move.