Fabregas: Wanted by Barca
Cesc is wanted by me, by the coach Pep Guardiola and by the sport director Txiki Begiristain.
Joan Laporta
Quotes of the week
Joan Laporta claims Cesc Fabregas is Barcelona's top summer target and that the talented midfielder wants to re-join his former club.
The European champions have held a long-standing interest in the 22-year-old Spain international, who left Camp Nou in search of first-team football six years ago.
With arch-rivals Real Madrid splashing the cash this summer Barca president Laporta is eager to add Fabregas, who he claims wants to play for the Catalan giants, to Pep Guardiola's star-studded squad.
However, any attempt by Laporta to bring Fabregas back to Camp Nou is likely to end in failure with the talented playmaker only last week reiterating his commitment to the Gunners.
Laporta also claims to have immense respect for Arsenal, although his fresh public declaration of his desire to sign Fabregas is unlikely to go down well at Emirates Stadium.
"Cesc Fabregas has the Barcelona DNA in his body and we know that he wants to play for this club," Laporta told Cadena Cope.
"At the moment he is the leader at Arsenal and a very important player for them. But Cesc is wanted by me, by the coach Pep Guardiola and by the sport director Txiki Begiristain.
"We are concentrating all of our efforts on it, but at the same time we have a lot of respect for Arsenal.
"We have positive relations with Arsenal so it will not be an easy topic to talk to them about."

Hull 3-3 West Ham - Merson
Sunderland 1-0 Arsenal - Le Tissier
Chelsea 4-0 Wolverhampton - Nicholas
Burnley 1-1 Aston Villa - Thompson
Burnley 1-1 Aston Villa - O'Neill
Birmingham 1-0 Fulham - McLeish
Chelsea 4-0 Wolverhampton - Essien
Sunderland 1-0 Arsenal - Wenger
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Sunday 22nd November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 13:30 | Bolton vs Blackburn |
| 15:00 | Tottenham vs Wigan |
| 16:00 | Stoke vs Portsmouth |
| Wednesday 25th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | Hull vs Everton |
| 20:00 | Fulham vs Blackburn |
| Saturday 28th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Blackburn vs Stoke |
| 15:00 | Fulham vs Bolton |
| 15:00 | Man City vs Hull |
| 15:00 | Portsmouth vs Man Utd |
| 15:00 | West Ham vs Burnley |
| 15:00 | Wigan vs Sunderland |
| 17:30 | Aston Villa vs Tottenham |
| Sunday 29th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:00 | Wolverhampton vs Birmingham |
| 13:30 | Everton vs Liverpool |
| 16:00 | Arsenal vs Chelsea |
| Saturday 5th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Portsmouth vs Burnley |
| 15:00 | Arsenal vs Stoke |
| 15:00 | Aston Villa vs Hull |
| 15:00 | Blackburn vs Liverpool |
| 15:00 | West Ham vs Man Utd |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Saturday 21st November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Liverpool 2 - 2 Man City | |
| Hull 3 - 3 West Ham | |
| Chelsea 4 - 0 Wolverhampton | |
| Sunderland 1 - 0 Arsenal | |
| Man Utd 3 - 0 Everton | |
| Birmingham 1 - 0 Fulham | |
| Burnley 1 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Monday 9th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Liverpool 2 - 2 Birmingham | |
| Sunday 8th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Hull 2 - 1 Stoke | |
| Wigan 1 - 1 Fulham | |
| Chelsea 1 - 0 Man Utd | |
| West Ham 1 - 2 Everton | |
| Saturday 7th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 5 - 1 Bolton | |
| Blackburn 3 - 1 Portsmouth | |
| Tottenham 2 - 0 Sunderland | |
| Wolverhampton 1 - 4 Arsenal | |
| Man City 3 - 3 Burnley | |
| Wednesday 4th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| West Ham 2 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Sunday 1st November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Birmingham 0 - 0 Man City | |
| Saturday 31st October | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Arsenal 3 - 0 Tottenham | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 12 | 30 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 11 | 25 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 12 | 25 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 12 | 22 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 12 | 21 |
| 6 | Manchester City | 11 | 20 |
| 7 | Liverpool | 12 | 19 |
| 8 | Sunderland | 12 | 17 |
| 9 | Stoke City | 12 | 16 |
| 10 | Burnley | 12 | 16 |
| 11 | Fulham | 11 | 15 |
| 12 | Everton | 11 | 15 |
| 13 | Wigan Athletic | 12 | 14 |
| 14 | Blackburn Rovers | 11 | 13 |
| 15 | Birmingham City | 12 | 12 |
| 16 | Bolton Wanderers | 11 | 11 |
| 17 | Hull City | 12 | 11 |
| 18 | West Ham United | 12 | 10 |
| 19 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 12 | 10 |
| 20 | Portsmouth | 12 | 7 |
Take a look back at what Liverpool and Man City fans had to say following a 2-2 draw at Anfield.
Bristol City fan Hannah Shine was strutting her as the Soccerette in the Soccer AM studios this week.
Paul Merson can't separate Bolton and Blackburn - but thinks Stoke will see off Portsmouth.
Chelsea continued their relentless march at the top of the table as Arsenal lost to Sunderland and Manchester City held Liverpool.
A second-half goal from Darren Bent was enough to give Sunderland a shock 1-0 victory over Arsenal.
Liverpool dropped two more points and fell further behind in the title race after being held to a 2-2 draw by Manchester City at Anfield.
A Michael Essien brace helped Chelsea easily beat Wolves 4-0 to maintain their five point lead at the top.
Manchester United moved back up to second in the table with a 3-0 victory over Everton at Old Trafford.