Cesc Fabregas will tell Arsene Wenger he still wants to leave

The Gunners captain has maintained a dignified silence since helping Spain to win the World Cup just over a fortnight ago but remains adamant that he wants a move.

The 23-year-old is reluctant to hand in a transfer request because of the respect he has for Wenger and is realistic enough to understand that he may still not achieve his goal if the manager refuses to talk to Barcelona.

But once Fabregas tells Wenger face to face for the second time that he wants an immediate move back to his former club — and not in 12 months' time — the Arsenal manager is going to be faced with a dilemma over whether to keep an unhappy player to prove a point or accept that he must do a deal with the Spaniards.

Wenger's hardline stance intensified this week with his description of the speculation about the midfielder's future in Spain as just "noise".

However, Fabregas still wishes to follow his friend Gerard Pique, who returned from the Premier League with Manchester United to domestic and European success at Barcelona.

Fabregas is expected to tell Wenger that he followed his advice in June to concentrate on winning the World Cup and to leave everything in the Frenchman's hands.

But, significantly, Arsenal's refusal to negotiate with new Barca president Sandro Rosell has fallen well short of what the player believes he is owed from his manager.

The Spaniards, despite their £366million debt, remain capable of paying £40m — they have already had one bid of £30m turned down — if Fabregas convinces his manager to let him go.

It has been claimed that Fabregas already knows what he would earn at the Nou Camp and will also inherit the No4 shirt worn by manager Pep Guardiola when he played for the Catalans.

This weekend is likely to see the situation crystallised as Wenger prepares his team for the Emirates Cup and matches with AC Milan on Saturday and Celtic on Sunday, while squeezing in a meeting that could decide Fabregas's future.