Fabregas likely to be named in squad against Benfica

Arsenal fans channel Jack Nicholson to yet another Cesc Fabregas story
The neverending Fabregas saga (TM) which so far has enveloped everyone in a stench so overpowering that Pepe Le Pew just dove off a bridge seems to have yet more twists.
Amongst them is now the distinct possibility that Cesc Fabregas might feature in Arsenal’s last pre-season game against Benfica this weekend. The midfielder has been peripheral in the lead to the new season because of a “hamstring injury” but his mental state which can be only described as delicate with the good cop bad cop routine emanating from Camp Nou might provide us with the real answer to his sketchy involvement.
The clubs remain far apart in their deal making with Arsenal linking Fabregas’s departure with a clean up front £40m transfer fee while the Catalans tie their hands with an assortment of back loaded payments and a salary cut.
We intuitively assume that Fabregas has already checked out of the Emirates but he’s not without blinders after the predatory way Barca went after Alexis Sanchez and the method of attrition that the same club seems to be employing in his case. It’s nice to have so many proxies prepare the welcome mat but in the real world there is a still a buyer and a seller. As Arseblog points out, if Barca really wanted him they could have had him by now agreeing to Arsenal’s price. Put the money where your mouth is and there is a deal.
Which brings us to why Fabregas must be re-evaluating after cutting through the fog. In two significant development’s he’s to appear in today’s team photo as Arsenal’s captain for the 2010-2011 season and this weekend might see his first pre-season action against Benfica. Wenger obviously has had a part to play in this change of attitude having not given up on Fabregas as an integral part of Arsenal’s future. He’s also probably told him that this the mature way to deal with a situation that could go either way.
The ball is in Barca’s court. With every passing day Wenger’s confidence he might be able to hold onto both Fabregas and Nasri goes up a notch.