Arsenal Transfer News: Cesc Fabregas Deal Ends Strange Transfer Saga

Arsenal's three-year long transfer battle to keep Cesc Fabregas in the fold at Emirates appears to be coming to an end at last.

The 24-year-old midfield maestro has been linked to a move back to Barcelona all summer long, and after one of the strangest transfer sagas in history, the prodigal prodigy appears to be heading back at last. 

According to reports from the Daily Mail, Mirror Football and The Telegraph, the Catalan club has had their bid accepted to bring the playmaking Gunner captain back to the Nou Camp after a lengthy, wild, sometimes baffling transfer struggle.

The reports cite hints from Barca stars Gerard Pique and Carlos Puyol, who tweeted greetings to the 24-year-old playmaker, welcoming him back into the fold as proof that the deal is done, but Arsenal continue to claim that nothing has been agreed to. 

According to the positive reports, the deal is going to cost Barcelona £31 million, plus another £5 million in salary forfeited by the talented 24-year-old midfielder and incentive milestone bonuses.

The cash has already been promised to be put back into the club by Arsenal executives, meaning manager Arsene Wenger will finally be able to bolster his shoddy defense. 

Fabregas could be announced and revealed by the Catalan juggernauts by tomorrow and could even end up in Barca's lineup as soon as Sunday. 

But if the reports are true (and there's been no real confirmation from either side at this point), the deal brings an end to one of the longest, strangest transfer sagas the sport has ever seen. 

It seems as though Barcelona have been trying to bring the prodigal prodigy back to the Nou Camp from the instant Arsene Wenger snapped him up from Barca's youth program as a 16-year-old wunderkind.

Every summer, we saw a new bid, a new push to bring him back into the fold in Spain, only to see the offers rebuffed by Wenger and the Gunners.

Things peaked in terms of drama last year, when it truly looked as though the talented playmaker would be leaving Arsenal for Spain. But thanks to a massive raise and the promise of becoming the club's captain, the talented Spaniard was talked into remaining at Emirates. 

That security lasted a grand total of six months, as rumours continued to swirl and whip around the talented midfield dynamo the instant this summer's transfer window opened. 

But despite those rumours, Barca didn't seem to have the available funds to get their man. Their initial £27 million bid was nowhere near Arsenal's valuation of their captain, and for two full months, they failed to raise that bid a single cent. 

That didn't stop them from engaging in an emotional battle to tell the people how "miserable" Fabregas was in North London, as star midfielder Xavi detailed Fabregas' plight at Emirates (even though Fabregas hadn't filed a transfer request). 

Now that a deal has actually gone through, the Gooner faithful have reached a bittersweet moment. They'll certainly be sad to see the dynamic talent leave, as he had moments of magic on the pitch at the Emirates over the years and was always a thrill to watch.

But at the same time, there's probably a feeling of relief as well, since they'll no longer have the shadow of Barcelona looming over everything they do during the transfer window. 

With a deal almost done, Fabregas' long, strange transfer saga is officially over. Regardless of how this actually ends (Arsenal still deny any deal is in place), it's certainly been a wild ride right up until the end.