Ex-Arsenal manager George Graham has told wantaway Cesc Fàbregas that he should go if he is not committed to the club's future.
The 23-year-old, who left the youth team at Barcelona for the Gunners in 2003, has been linked with a return to Spain for the last week and had a two-hour meeting with manager Arsène Wenger six days ago to state his case for leaving.
Fàbregas is said to be frustrated with the lack of silverware he has collected in England, and his potential new team-mate has urged Arsenal to let the Spaniard return home.
But Graham, who won the English title twice in 1989 and 1991, is convinced Arsenal will recover from the loss of Fàbregas if he move back to his native Catalunya.
He told The Mirror: "If the boy definitely wants to go, then let him. Arsenal will still make a huge profit – just like they did with Nicolas Anelka.
"It won’t be the end of Arsenal, not by any means. There is no one player who has ever run or will run Arsenal Football Club.
"If Barcelona come up with the fee that Arsenal want, then there is no point keeping a player who doesn’t want to be there."
Graham added: "People thought it was the end of the world when Liam Brady left but Arsenal came back.
"It was the same with Frank Stapleton and then Ian Wright. More recently, it was Thierry Henry.
"The days when players stayed at the clubs for most of their careers are, with a few exceptions, now gone.
"Years ago, if a player was at a good club, one like Arsenal, they wouldn’t want to move."
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The 23-year-old, who left the youth team at Barcelona for the Gunners in 2003, has been linked with a return to Spain for the last week and had a two-hour meeting with manager Arsène Wenger six days ago to state his case for leaving.
Fàbregas is said to be frustrated with the lack of silverware he has collected in England, and his potential new team-mate has urged Arsenal to let the Spaniard return home.
But Graham, who won the English title twice in 1989 and 1991, is convinced Arsenal will recover from the loss of Fàbregas if he move back to his native Catalunya.
He told The Mirror: "If the boy definitely wants to go, then let him. Arsenal will still make a huge profit – just like they did with Nicolas Anelka.
"It won’t be the end of Arsenal, not by any means. There is no one player who has ever run or will run Arsenal Football Club.
"If Barcelona come up with the fee that Arsenal want, then there is no point keeping a player who doesn’t want to be there."
Graham added: "People thought it was the end of the world when Liam Brady left but Arsenal came back.
"It was the same with Frank Stapleton and then Ian Wright. More recently, it was Thierry Henry.
"The days when players stayed at the clubs for most of their careers are, with a few exceptions, now gone.
"Years ago, if a player was at a good club, one like Arsenal, they wouldn’t want to move."
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