Arsène Wenger believes Arsenal must stay focused on securing a "formidable" end to the season rather than worrying about the long-term future of players such as Cesc Fábregas. The captain is set to return after three months out with a knee injury for the visit of Manchester City tomorrow.
Even though the Spain international has been out of action, the Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, has spoken of his wish to see the 21-year-old back at Camp Nou, sparking speculation of a big-money summer transfer for the central midfielder.
Arsenal's leading scorer this season, Robin van Persie, who will miss tomorrow's game with a groin problem, and the England forward Theo Walcott, who returns from a minor knee injury, have yet to agree new deals at the Emirates.
But as the club, fourth in the Premier League, enter the defining period of the campaign – with a Champions League quarter-final against Villarreal and an FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea at Wembley – Wenger has called for the players to keep their attention fixed on the job in hand.
"Our success depends on how well we focus on the short term and how intelligent we are to rule out all the long-term speculation," the Arsenal manager said. "We have answered that question [on Fábregas] for five years now. What is important is that a player like Cesc can come back into the squad and help us be successful.
"What is important for us is not who stays in July or who goes, it is how much we focus on the next game. It is how well we deal with that kind of thing inside the club; that is more important than what people say. Any distraction would be a weakness from our side and a wrong excuse. We do not want that. We cannot influence what people say, or write or think. We can influence how much success we can achieve together. The period which is in front of us can be a formidable human experience for our players, and that is what I want it to be."
The striker Emmanuel Adebayor is back in contention to face City following a successful return to action with Togo after a hamstring injury but Eduardo (groin), Abou Diaby (thigh) and Samir Nasri (virus) are all set to miss out tomorrow. Nicklas Bendtner (knee) is expected to be fit.
"There is only a key team," said Wenger. "There are no key players. What I expect is a performance from the team and not of just one given player. We know the players will come back and need some time. We have eight games in 24 days and that means our success will be determined by the squad and not by any given player. We just focus to win any game with the players who are playing and not any individuals."
