Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has sought to draw a line under speculation over Cesc Fabregas by insisting his captain will not leave the club this summer.

In June, the Gunners rejected a bid of £29m from Barcelona, who have courted midfielder Fabregas, 23, for some time.

"Cesc is a very important player for us, he is our captain and we've worked very hard for him to be our future," Wenger told the club's website.

"That is why we are always adamant about not letting him go."

Arsenal's stubborn resistance was reaffirmed by Barcelona spokesman Toni Freixa, who this week revealed that the Gunners were refusing to sit down and negotiate with the Catalan club.

606: DEBATE Arsenal are financially much stronger than Barcelona and can afford to sit back and refuse to talk to them arsenalsuccess

When the Gunners turned down an official approach from the Spanish champions in June, the north Londoners issued a strongly-worded statement making clear that Fabregas, who has five years to run on his contract, was not available for transfer.

This has not prevented the Catalan giants from pursuing the Spanish international, who played in Barca's youth set-up before joining Arsenal in 2003.

Barcelona midfielder Xavi claimed last week that Fabregas told his Spain team-mates he wants a return to the Nou Camp.

And during the celebrations for Spain's World Cup victory earlier this month a number of players forced Fabregas to wear a Barcelona shirt, which the player himself later dismissed as a joke.

Wenger believes such speculation is something the Gunners will simply have to tolerate, addining: "It is only noise. In our job we have to deal with what we can master. What we cannot influence is not to worry about."

Since moving to Arsenal as a 16-year-old, Fabregas has made 267 appearances and scored 48 goals.

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