Barcelona president Joan Laporta has identified his club's pursuit of Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas as a "special case".

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has been unimpressed by the Catalan side's attempts to sign his captain this summer.

And Laporta said: "I apologise if I bothered Mr Wenger, because I respect him very highly and the job he is doing.

"But he knows perfectly that the case of Cesc Fabregas is special.

"He is a Catalan player from our youth team and it is not a secret that we love this player."

Fabregas missed yesterday's 2-1 defeat by Manchester United because of a hamstring injury.