MADRID (AFP) - Arsenal's Spanish star Cesc Fabregas insisted Friday that he would only leave the Gunners for his former club Barcelona.

"I'm 23 and have a long career ahead of me. I have never hidden the fact that playing for Barcelona is a dream that I would like to fulfill and if I must leave Arsenal it would only be to play at Barca," he said.

"I haven't decided anything, I never planned to leave Arsenal and if I haven't left it's because I'm very happy here and because they treat me with enormous respect," he said.

Barcelona have held a long-standing interest in Fabregas, who left the Spanish club for Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of just 16.

But Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said last month that his captain would not be sold to Barcelona.

He also said the Spanish midfielder, who has 48 caps for his country, would be foolish to go back to Spain because he claims La Liga is not as competitive as the Premier League.

Fabregas has been out of action since cracking his fibula during the Champions League quarter-final first-leg against Barcelona on March 31.