Cesc Fabregas admits he almost turned down Arsenal because he believed his Barcelona youth team was far better.

The super Spaniard told the Daily Mail: "At Barca we played Arsenal a few months before in a youth tournament and we beat them 5-1. I scored two goals and I was like, 'I don't want to go because we are better'.

"But then they made me the proposal and I saw that Arsenal was a great club. I came here to see the training ground and to talk to Mr Wenger. Imagine, you are playing under 16s at Barcelona and then you are talking to a person like Arsene Wenger who is so important in this world of football.

"It impressed me a lot. I had something in my mind saying, 'Go on, you have to sign because everything is going to be fine'."