Premier League: Why Arsenal Have Been Swindled in the Cesc Fabregas Deal

So there we have it, yet another long-winded Arsenal related transfer saga has come to an end. Unlike the protracted farewells of Patrick Viera and Thierry Henry, this one really feels like Arsenal got swindled.

The general consensus seems to be this was a good a deal as Arsenal was going to get. They made some decent money while getting rid of a want-away player before he could upset the mood any further, and as goes the party-line, dear old Cesc got the move of his dreams.

Yet since around the time Barcelona defenders Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique forced Fabregas into wearing the club's shirt during Spain's World Cup celebrations last year, the Gunners have been victims of a campaign of manipulation with the ultimate objective of getting their captain a transfer back home. And if "victims" seems a little strong, well there doesn't seem to be a better way of describing a club that has just lost their prize asset.

Fabregas has perhaps avoided much of the criticism usually aimed at players campaigning for a move. There is undoubtedly some hurt in leaving a club in which he has grown into a man, and despite the ultimate lack of success, had some good times. It is not unreasonable on his part to want to move home either, nor is it to want to play for what is currently the world's best football team.

But should they feel so inclined, Arsene Wenger and Arsenal supporters have a right to feel aggrieved at Fabregas' conduct and the damage it has done to the team's aspirations.

For a player who claims to love Barcelona so much, it begs the question why did he leave in the first place? Surely with his talent, Fabregas would have worked his way into the team picture without having to move away.

On a less emotional level, when he signed his long-term deal and took on the responsibility of being club captain, the Spanish international bought into a project. Arsene Wenger's overall football philosophy means there is a whole lot more meaning to that word. You could argue Fabregas has more than done his part in attempting to translate Wenger's ideas into tangible success. But such is his importance to this, it is hard not to feel that in some ways he has let his coach and club down in his desire to leave.

At least in that his desperation to achieve has resulted in a deal that is frankly below what his current market value should be.

Depending on your view point, this may or may not be an unfair judgement of Fabregas' role in this. Barcelona's part in the saga is not in question, it is bordering on disgrace the way they have undermined Arsenal at every turn, from the players public calls to let him come home, to the club hierarchy messing around their north London counterparts with repeated bids, all of which were far too cheap.

Nobody is naive enough to believe transfer negotiations are beyond a little craftiness in attempting to get the best deal, but there is an element of classlessness that has characterised Barcelona's pursuit of Fabregas these past couple of years.

Now that the saga is at an end, perhaps the ones Gunners' fans should most reserve their ire for are their club's decision makers. The deal has been worked out so that overall Arsenal could receive £35 million, with £25.4 million of this up front. Really, they should not have settled for anything less than £40 million.

The initial £25.4 million is of course a huge sum of money, but in a world where Andy Carroll can be sold for £35 million and Fernando Torres goes for £50 million, Fabregas who was arguably of far greater importance to his team, should have been fetching fees closer to the latter sum.

The 24-year-old's insistence that Barcelona was the only club he would move to of course made a difference. Manchester City, Inter Milan or Real Madrid could probably have been forced into forking out the kind of money Torres was sold for. But in another way, it makes it all the more remarkable that Arsenal did not demand that Barcelona really pay up if they wanted Fabregas so bad.

With three years left to run on his existing contract, Arsenal had the time to get their deal. Then either they would get the transfer fee a star player warrants, or they get a year or two's worth of service out of him. Because surely if he loves Arsenal as much as he claims, Fabregas wouldn't be one to sulk and complain?

You have to feel some sympathy for Wenger's predicament here. Holding onto a player who is unhappy runs the risk of unsettling the squad. But there is an argument to be made that the board could have done more to stand firm with him and get across the point that Fabregas had a value and he would go for nothing less.

What direction Arsenal is heading in now remains to be seen. There is still plenty of quality in that midfield. Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey and if he remains, Samir Nasri can replace much of the creativity Fabregas brought to the side. More worrying is the prospect that the loss of such a senior figure will damage the leadership in a team that already at times seemed rudderless. Fabregas was no Tony Adams or Patrick Viera, but he led by example and they looked a far more assured side when he was playing for them.

The man with the biggest responsibility to compensate for Fabregas' absence is Wenger. It is up to him now to display some of his transfer acumen of years past and show that an extra £15 million was not needed for him to buy some players who will make his side legitimate Premier League challengers.

With a few smart additions they could turn Fabregas' departure into a nice bit of business. Without them, it could prove a loss they could not afford to take.