Cesc pledges future, Van Persie bemoans wage structure and Djourou eyes midfield berth...

Cesc Fabregas has moved quickly to quash speculation surrounding his future by stating he wants to be at Arsenal for years to come.

With Darren Dein becoming Cesc's new agent many feared that the Arsenal board's strenous relationship with former director David could have a bearing on the midfielders mindset.

Any fears have subsided with Fabregas confirming he wants to win titles with The Gunners. 

"I will stay at Arsenal," Fabregas said in The Sun. "My coach asked me and I told him he had my confidence.

"I'd love to win the Premier League and I am one of those players who fight for what they want until they achieve it."

Great to hear from your best player, its good to see him come out and nip any rumours in the bud before they become exacerbated by the press. With Real Madrid and Barcelona credited with an interest in the diminutive Spaniard new contract talks are welcome. Cesc is the foundation our team is built on and its crucial he remains in North London for many a year to come.

Interestingly Aleksandr Hleb has today broken his silence on the current acrimony surrounding his on/off transfer. Alledged meetings with Barcelona and Real Madrid in the past few weeks have led to many expecting Hleb to be on his way before long, myself included. Comments this morning though would indicate otherwise;

"I have a contract at Arsenal until 2010 and now only think of the game against Germany," he told Spox.com.

"I have also read [that I have said I want to leave], but I do not know who has written it. That is nonsense.

"I have also read that I wanted to move because Arsenal would win nothing, this too is nonsense.

"But I would really not like to comment on the issue really because there is nothing more to say, because the club means so much to me.

"I have learned so much from Arsene Wenger. This man has always supported me and given me the chance to come to Arsenal. I would therefore never say anything negative about Arsenal.

"If I'll go, then only in a different league, in any case, in England, there is only Arsenal for me."

All very sweet of him but the way Hleb has dealt with this speculation leads to me feeling somewhat cynical. His agent has been releasing statement after statement surrounding his future, yet Hleb wonders where the stories come from. It all smacks of Hleb covering himself should any protracted deal not go through. Albeit Hleb has never said himself he wants to leave, the lack of professionalism on his behalf throughout the speculation hardly endears him and should he stay or go, there will be a bitter taste left in the mouth.

Robin Van Persie has said today that the wage structure at Arsenal needs reviewing if they are to prevent players leaving/encourage big names to join the club.

The Gunners' top earners reportedly pocket £80,000 a week, while star players at Manchester United and Chelsea are contracted to £130,000, and Van Persie feels Arsenal must scrap their salary limit.

"Arsenal won't pay enormous amounts but should go to a higher level,"

"If a player can earn four times as much at another club, I can understand why he'd go elsewhere,"

I'd pay Emmanuel Eboue's wages four times over to have him locked in my garden shed, making sure he's never let near an Arsenal shirt again.

But in all seriousness, its a bit sad to hear Van Persie saying such things. You'd hope that the desire to play for one of Europe's greatest clubs would be enough of an incentive to sign for Arsenal, not an extra £10,000 a week on top of the £80,000 they already earn. He should also realise that we in a very similar bracket to Manchester United with regards to money spent on wages and that Chelsea are on a different planet when it comes to splashing the cash.

Johan Djourou has staked his claim for Flamini's vacant midfield spot, saying;

"Playing in front of the defence is the position where my qualities are expressed best,"

"Arsene Wenger says this to me too. Unfortunately, we do not play a system which enables me to hold this spot, like Claude Makelele does with Chelsea.

"I have not had many possibilities of showing my midfield capabilities. I hope my chance will come in the next few years."

It would appear there are quite a few names vying for that position, both from inside and out of the club. We have Gilberto Silva, Diaby, Nasri (I hope and expect), Alex Song already and have been linked with the likes of Veloso of Sporting and Aquilani of Roma.

Djourou hasn't really impressed me when he has appeared at centre back this season but it would be interesting to see how he does further up the field, especially as he sees that as his primary position.

More tomorrow.