Cesc Fabregas says Arsenal won’t be bullied out of games again after Man Utd

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has been reflecting on the club's 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford last weekend, despite having missed the game through injury. The Spanish 22-year-old said that the Gunners were not intimidated by the physical nature of the confrontation, which saw six Arsenal players booked and manager Arsene Wenger sent off.

"It hurts to lose in that way, but we were denied many opportunities and it was a very physical game - maybe too physical - but we showed that we will not be bullied by anybody," the influential midfielder said. Fabregas also denied any interest in an immediate return to Barcelona, the club where he began his career, saying he would like to win a major trophy with the Londoners before considering a move.

As reported on The First Post today, Fabregas's move to Arsenal six years ago caused outrage at the Catalan club as they signed him when he was just 16. The Big Four Premier League clubs are currently undergoing a storm of controversy over their 'poaching' of young players from European clubs.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes at the Emirates it looks like Alisher Usmanov, the Uzbek oil magnate who has been stalking the club since 2007 when he bought former club vice-chairman David Dein's 14.58 per cent stake in the club for £75m, is set to become the biggest shareholder.

Usmanov, who turns 56 tomorrow, is in pole position to buy Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith's 15.9 per cent share in the club, a transaction that would take Usmanov well in excess of 30 per cent and would precipitate a formal takeover bid for the club, in agreement with the City's financial rules.

Russia's 18th richest man, Usmanov has a chequered business history - he spent six years in a Soviet jail in the 1980s and has been accused of fraud over his holdings in diamond mines - which is likely to mean that any such a bid could expect to attract a lot of attention from City regulators.

In recent year's the club's hierarchy has preferred to deal with the American sports mogul Stan Kroenke, who possesses 28.58 per cent of the club's shares, so the board is likely to see if the American can come to their rescue. Fans too are suspicious of the billionaire Usmanov's motives, and staged a demonstration against his involvement in the club in 2007. ·