Cesc Fabregas moved closer to his dream move to Barcelona last night after his father insisted he WILL quit Arsenal.

Francesc Fabregas has turned up the heat on Arsenal after publicly admitting for the first time that his son wants to join Barcelona this summer.

Arsenal insist they will not sell at any price and Barcelona have yet to table a bid but are now being forced into a corner as Fabregas' father has admitted that the Spanish midfielder has told Arsene Wenger he wants to leave.

Fabregas senior said: "He has decided. It appears more clearly that he will do it. Whatever happens, he has great respect for Arsenal.

"When these things happen I think that there can be misunderstandings and I think that everyone should just respect the decision of the player.

"Cesc has been very clear. He mentioned it early to give himself the best chance. This would have caused a lot more bother had it been brought up after the World Cup because then there is not much time to react and look for a new player.

"At 23 he has shown his maturity and it has been only him that has spoken, without any agents talking. He has wanted to speak out because he did not want to have any problems. It is a choice and now time is required so that a solution can be found.

"I thought that this might be quick, all done, and now I see that maybe we will need to talk more to sort things out. After what I have seen this week this could be a long process, although I hope not."

Just to compound the major problem facing Arsenal, the club's Mexican forward, Carlos Vela, has also claimed that he can understand Fabregas' decision to quit.

Vela said: "It is difficult for big players, they want to win trophies and play in games like the Champions League final. I'm sure he's disappointed we have not won anything for five years."

MirrorFootball revealed last week that Fabregas had told Arsene Wenger face-to-face in a meeting at the club's training ground last Tuesday that he wanted to join Barcelona.

But Arsenal insist that Barcelona have not made an official bid and they are determined not to sell a player who has extended his contract until June 2015.