Spain international Cesc Fabregas has refused to rule out a potential return to Arsenal once his Chelsea contract concludes at the end of the campaign. The 31-year-old made a name for himself with the Gunners between 2004 and 2011 before making his comeback with hometown club Barcelona.

Three years later, the Spaniard made the decision to return to the Premier League with Chelsea and though he has had a successful career, his Blues future remains under doubt beyond the current campaign. Speaking to Marca, Fabregas indicated that he has no plans to step down from the game in the near future and refused to rule out a possible return to the Emirates Stadium.

He said:“Arsenal will always be in my heart and I will never forget them so why not return. You never know. I feel fine still. In seven monthsmy contract ends with Chelsea. It will be 16 seasons playing at the highest level, over 750 games, a lot of training, travelling… I feel young and strong but maybe I can’t do 60 games a season.”

“Fabregas has certainly been one of the Premier League most consistent players over the years“ but he has shown a drop in terms of his pace attributes in the past 18 months. As such, his gametime has reduced under new coach Maurizio Sarri, who “has preferred the likes“ of N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, Ross Barkley and Mateo Kovacic ahead of him for the central midfield duties.

Fabregas has yet to make a Premier League start for the Blues this term and his sole appearance came from the bench during the club’s thumping 4-0 win over Burnley over the weekend. The Spaniard has however earned gametime in the Cup and European competitions where he has managed three starts from as many matches for Chelsea.