Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas has continued his impassioned defence of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, insisting the Frenchman is the only reason he is now playing for his boyhood club.
• Barcelona: Fabregas worth £53m
Fabregas, who has made a flying start to his second stint with the Catalan giants, had to bide his time before being granted a move back to Barcelona, after the two parties took over a year to reach an agreement over his eventual £25 million initial transfer fee.
Wenger is still widely criticised among the Spanish club's fanbase for 'abducting' Fabregas as a youth player, but the 24-year-old insists that is an unfair assessment - revealing that it was actually Wenger who played a crucial role in forcing down Arsenal's asking price so he could leave.
"That is the wrong picture of him, had it not been for him, I would not now be a Barca player," Fabregas told El Pais. "Without him I would not have made my debut by 16, played in the final of the Champions League at 18 and been team captain by 20.
"Without him I would not be a Barca player now, he convinced the owners of Arsenal, who would not sell under any circumstances, to lower the price."
Returning to Barcelona having come up through their fabled La Masia academy before heading for London, Fabregas admits that he still has some work to do to get up to speed with his team-mates, both tactically and technically.
"I feel I still have much to learn, this team is highly mechanised and there are things I have to catch up on particularly in defence," he said. "I have never seen a team that is so focused on the attack-defend transition - playing against Barcelona is very complicated but playing at the club is not so easy and that is the challenge.
"I honestly feel that at times I may hinder them, but they are good at fixing it and hiding it, I must adapt to them and learn.
"It is the most beautiful thing I have seen in my life, all you hear is the ball going - tap, tap, tap - I have never seen so much training at this level."
Observers had initially suggested that, with the likes of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi already in the squad, Fabregas would have to bide his time and wait for first-team opportunities. So far that has not proven to be the case, with Fabregas slotting in at a number of positions in most games, but he is willing to make way if any of the three start to get frustrated with being asked to make way.
"It is clear that only players like Xavi, Iniesta and Messi could complain about a lack of playing time, and if they did complain I would respect that, so I will play when I play," he said.
