Wenger welcomes Cesc return

Arsene Wenger insists Cesc Fabregas is committed to the Arsenal cause, and has piled praise on Theo Walcott.

The Gunners boss welcomed club captain Fabregas back into his first-team fold on Saturday for the first time since he helped Spain lift the 2010 World Cup.

He was restricted to a cameo appearance off the bench in a 6-0 rout of Blackpool, as he is still not fully fit, but his presence has helped to lift spirits within the camp.

Fabregas has spent much of the summer being linked with a move to Barcelona, but Wenger is adamant that saga is now over and that his skipper is fully focused on his duties at Emirates Stadium.

He told Sky Sports: "We want to focus now on our season. Cesc really wants to win and he is completely focused. If you see how he is in training, you would be in no doubt.

"I think that to win something with the club will make him ever greater. I think it would be a greater achievement than going to Barcelona. He has been educated here since the age of 16, he has grown with this team, and to make it into a winning side would be a great achievement for him."

While delighted to have Fabregas back, Wenger saw his captain upstaged by Walcott on Saturday.

Intelligent

The flying winger bagged a hat-trick against Premier League newcomers Blackpool and his performance has drawn widespread acclaim.

Wenger said: "I liked his game today because he was good in the final third, he made chances and he finished as well. He got two important aspects of being a striker right, he passed when he had to pass the ball and he finished when he could finish. That shows that he is an intelligent player and he continues to improve."

Arsenal's all-round showing against the Seasiders greatly pleased their boss, although Wenger admitted afterwards that the sending off of Ian Evatt shortly after the half-hour mark helped to swing the tide in favour of his team.

"It is difficult to say how much, but it did change the game," he said.

"They were looking good going forward when it was 11 against 11 and I felt that if we were not ready they would score. They had a couple of good opportunities at 1-0 and after that, of course, they went down to 10 men, down 2-0 and it was too much for them.

"We created many and we took many as well. Overall we were fluent, we were sharp, we were quick going forward and we created good chances. Credit to Blackpool they continued to play even with 10 men, but overall we had the good collective drive."