Unless you were living under a rock last summer, you probably heard that Cesc Fabregas was linked with F.C. Barcelona. The Fabregas saga was one of the biggest stories of the transfer season last year as there were months of on-going speculation about his future. At the time, Fabregas was frankly on top of the world. He just had one of his best seasons and for weeks, the football world seem to be centered around the Spaniard. After the constant media rumors and the attention this sideshow brought, nothing happened in the end as Arsenal won the fight to keep him. However, Arsenal were sort of the losers too after they failed to do any signings which hurt the team’s chances of winning anything. To make matters worse, Fabregas had a decidedly-off year hampered by injury, inconsistent play and perhaps, due to a longing to be with his buddies in Barcelona.

As Arsenal enters the summer, there is a great amount of pressure for Wenger to finally be active in the market. Arsenal showed they had great potential and were in prime position at times to challenge the league lead with United. Unfortunately, they lacked the resolve and experience to win when it really counted as they cruelly bounced out of contention. Yet,  the real question is how can Wenger and Arsenal plan for the future when they don’t know what’s going to happen to Fabregas?

Once again, the rumors have come with Fabregas making his long-anticipated move to the Catalan giants. His Spanish teammates have already opened their mouths again about how much they want Cesc to come as David Villa put it according to Sport.es:

“Cesc is my weakness, I hope he comes. As a footballer, the whole world knows him and what he could bring us. And as a person, he deserves to return to Barcelona, his family is here and the club where he began.” Villa also said that if Cesc leaves for Barça, “it would be a great joy, but I would be more happy for him because he deserves it, than for me, to have him as a companion.”

The images of the Barca jersey on Fabregas surely come to mind as do the constant urges of all his Spanish teammates beckoning and expecting him to leave. Frankly, the stories of Fabregas’s future soon became quite irritating. At this point, Fabregas should just do himself and Arsenal a favor and leave already.

There are many reasons why Fabregas should leave both for himself and and for the team where he grew into a superstar. It was easy to see how the Spanish titan of English football frankly didn’t show the same spark as he did in past years. Arsenal was a contender for a large part of the season but it wasn’t due to Fabregas. Arsenal played like a team consistently getting results thanks to others like Samir Nasri who all but replaced him as the dominant central midfielder of the team. When the team consistently dropped points at the end of the season, Arsenal lacked leadership that should have came from someone like Fabregas. Therefore, if Cesc Fabregas still plays for Arsenal but his heart is elsewhere, he should do the team and the fans a favor and leave.

Fabregas’ departure would also help Wenger greatly in terms of the transfer market. While Arsenal will likely still profit mightily off him, they won’t get as much money this time from dealing him to Barcelona as they would have last summer. Due to their massive debt, Barcelona have announced that their transfer budget this summer is around 45 million euros which is at least 10 million less than what Arsenal were demanding for Fabregas. With players like Bendter, Denilson expected to leave and Nasri’s future being up in the air, Wenger maybe will feel he would have the freedom to spend in preparation of a team without Fabregas (and Nasri). Arsenal have been linked with a large number of star play-makers including Eden Hazard, Radamel Falcao, Karim Benzema, Jan Vertonghen, Neven Subotic and many more. Without the distraction of whether Fabregas is leaving or not, Arsenal could focus on the future and eventually end their streak of years without a trophy.

Cesc Fabregas is a fantastic footballer capable of amazing feats. He would probably return to being one of the best midfielders in Europe once he’s happy with his dream team, Barcelona. Just like Cristiano Ronaldo, sometimes there’s just no stopping footballers from wanting to play for their idolized teams. “I am a Barca supporter. I am a member like my grandfather, my uncle, my cousin…, ” Fabregas said last year. “I love their colours since I was very small. I am Catalan. However, I am captain of Arsenal, I am a Gunner and it is there that I have become a player and that I have matured as a person.”

Judging from that quote, Fabregas will always be appreciative of his Arsenal days. Yet, he has looked ready for well over a year to move on to achieving his dream. Instead of having another summer saga, he should just go already.