Posted by Betfair's View

Betfair Guest Blogger-

Cesc Fabregas had hoped to put to bed the rumours of a move to Barcelona by issuing his statement of intent earlier in the year and then following this up with a series of solid performances in an Arsenal shirt.

However, after being forced to miss large chunks of this season through injury problems, and now having declared to Gunners fans that he is in no rush to get back into the swing of things, he has almost encouraged doubts over his commitment to the club to resurface. The rumour mill rumor mill has linked him with a move away from the club for a while now and it seems almost anything is used to fule the claims.

Wenger has, of course, strenuously supported his talented skipper and is keen to maintain that the Spaniard's mind is not wandering elsewhere, but the Arsenal boss knows deep down that Fabregas needs to reassure fans that he really does love the club that has arguably turned him into the world-class player he is.

Although Arsenal fans will probably have taken heart in the fact that Barcelona clearly did not look like they needed the services of Fabregas as they demolished title rivals Real Madrid 5-0 in the first El Clasico of the current La Liga season, they must now hope that their skipper can prove whilst in North London that he is indeed good enough to be an instrumental part of Pep Guardiola's side. However, if he is to do this in time to rush off to Barca during the January transfer window, he may need to speed up his recovery in time to demonstrate his talents clearly to the Catalan outfit.

Such an outcome is not one that Gunners fans would revel in but they certainly wouldn't mind seeing their captain back and performing in a way that they know he is capable of when he is at his very best. With the football betting suggesting the Gunners are on course for at least one trophy this season

If he can locate his best form once more, then Arsenal may just be able to pick up their first major trophy since their 2005 FA Cup triumph this year.