Barcelona wanted Cesc and Arshavin was close

Asked about the rumours saying that Barcelona would have tried to sign Arsenal midfielder and Spanish international Cesc Fàbregas (21) during the summer transfer window (read more here), former Barcelona sports vice president Marc Ingla, who left the club in july (read more here), has confirmed in an interview with Catalan radio station Catalunya Ràdio that Barcelona wanted the Catalan player to return:

"We went there trying to sign Cesc, but Arsenal manager Wenger wanted him as the leader of his project so it appeared to be impossible. It would have been a very expensive transfer and the player also feels very good in London. I also want to make clear that we never offered them to give Xavi in exchange.

We also talked with several centre forwards but we couldn't find an agreement with any of them. The transfer of Arshavin on the other hand was very close but then Zenit blew up the deal by suddenly asking 30 million euro°."

Read more:
Barcelona wanted Cesc-Hleb package deal
Cesc dreams of Barcelona return
Barcelona preparing January bid for Cesc