New Delhi: Arsene Wenger showed how relaxed he is about Barcelona's persistent pursuit of his captain, Cesc Fabregas, by jokingly commenting to journalists that if the Catalan giants don't give up their Cesc chase, he will mount a bid for Barca's global superstar, Lionel Messi.
The point Wenger was making is that the likelihood of midfielder Fabregas moving to Camp Nou is about as distant as that of Messi signing for Arsenal.
And he underlined it by insisting that there was ‘no chance’ the 22-year-old former Barca youth product would leave the Emirates any time soon - in the same way that it would be futile for the Gunners to try prising Argentine phenomenon Messi, also 22, from Barcelona.
Messi has a €150 million (£130m) buy-out clause in his Barca contract.
"I have made a bid for Messi and nobody speaks about it," quipped Wenger, according to the Daily Mail. "It is the same (as the situation with Cesc). How can people think we will sell Fabregas now, one day before the championship starts? We are not in a weak financial position, we don’t need to sell anybody."
"He is committed to the club and he has told me that. We cannot master the noises coming out of Spain. This is his sixth year (at Arsenal). What he wants is to win trophies for the club."
Turning to the season that kicks off for the Gunners at Everton on Saturday, Wenger stated his belief that Arsenal will be Premier League title contenders, saying, "At the start we race for the top spot. After, the minimal target is the top four but you don’t start the season thinking like that.
"Maybe some of our fans have the fear we will drop out of the top four. That’s guided by fear, not objective assessment of our performances."
Referring to last season's poor start, Wenger added, "After 14 games we had lost five and that was too many.
"At the moment, nobody looks at us as a potential fighter for the championship. I believe we have to keep serene, not put unneeded pressure on our shoulders and focus on how we want to play."
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