Fabregas sets record straight on Arsenal exit

Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas denies suggestions he played out his last season at Arsenal with a move to Spain already in the wings.

In an interview with the FIFA website on Thursday, the Spain international talked about his tumultuous return to the Catalan giants during the summer, and said that only injury troubles prevented him from gaining any consistency in 2010-11.

“Not for one moment, because I never knew what the future held,” Fabregas said. “I was an Arsenal player and under contract until 2014, so I wasn’t thinking of leaving.”

“Some people claimed that, just because I didn’t play very much and had a lot of injuries, that it was a bad season for me. I disagree. I still scored nine goals and made 20 assists.’

“However, what is true is that I had one injury after another, and every time I got back to full fitness, something else would happen and I’d have to start again from scratch. For all that, mentally I was 100 percent focused on Arsenal.”

Fabregas said he was delighted at the speed of his transition into the Barcelona first team.

The World Cup winner has already found the net five times and has provided an impressive five assists to team-mates, despite arriving in late August.

“(My transition has been) very comfortable, happy in fact,” said Fabregas. “I’ve been greatly encouraged by my good early-season form.”

“To be honest, everyone at the club has been helping me a great deal, above all my team-mates, some of whom I’ve known for many years. In addition, the fans have been great with me, so I’ve really no complaints.”

The 24-year-old then switched to the topic of the forthcoming Club World Cup in Japan, which kicks off on December 8.

“This is Barcelona and we’re obliged to win every game. It’s what people expect,” said Fabregas. “That makes it mandatory for us and we have to deliver.”

“It’s the same for Real Madrid, AC Milan, Manchester United, Juventus and Bayern, among others. That’s just the way it is at big clubs.”

Barcelona will enter the competition at the semi-final stage with the fixture set to be played on December 15.

They host Levante in La Liga on Saturday.