A joke in poor taste…

Well if apologies do the trick then I would put puyol n other barca players trying to tap our captain in a Real Madrid tshirt and put those real life statues at barca stadium.........

and funny thing is barca is going through financial turmoil and still wanting Fabregas..its like beggars asking to drive a Mercedes........

I hope players who you support can borrow some sense from you.......

Hey JC, wasnt that the prick who tried to take the world cup!! what a twat, says it all about your beloved Barca really, NO CLASS WHATSOEVER.

Yo N4, pls do your homework. that was not any Barca Fan, that was Jimmy Jump, the biggest bacra fan in the world.

Seem to remember a similar incident when a Barca fan ran on the pitch and tried to put a Barca shirt on Henry when he was still at Arsenal, must have been another joke!!

In March, he came under heavy criticism from fans after he publicly sported a Milan (Inter's crosstown rivals) jersey on the Italian show Striscia la Notizia.[31]

In the wake of recent tense situation, Balotelli released a statement of apology in Internazionale's official website, that reads:
“ "I am sorry for the situation that has been created recently. I am the first person who has suffered because I adore football and I want to play, and now I am waiting in silence so I can return to being useful to my team. I want to put the past behind me, look to the future and concentrate on the upcoming commitments and make myself ready."

Mario Balotelli[32]

Article taken on wikipedia.org--->Mario Balotelli

So, even the inter fans were made when that event occured. I do not see why some people here say that WE, the arsenal fans are overreacting as our reaction is NORMAL and any fans supporting a specific club should be reacting this way. If not, it only shows that we do NOT CARE for the player's sake at the club. I think I just drop a bomb that will shut up every barca fan here...

Man Arsenal fans act like they're the only ones annoyed by this Fabregas crap or that they're the only ones suffering from something like this.

I don't understand why these Arsenal fans are making a big deal about it. If that jersey had Cesc's name at the back of it then I would have understood the frustration.

*To do that in Madrid one needs to have balls.

coolest prank ever. Do to that in Madrid one needs to have balls.

What an uncomfortable look on Cesc's face lol. I think Puyol and Pique were caught up in the moment, no real harm meant but there was some bad taste. As for tampering charges...If we get sued...then every club in Europe will have to watch their back...because it happens everywhere...especially in the capital

agiamba: But Milan doesn't hound Balotelli the same way as Barca have been hounding Fabregas.

There have been rumblings from Arsenal folks of a tampering suit filed that would include all employees of Barcelona...

All it would take is one disgruntled current or ex-player to say he received instruction to make public comments about Cesc ..err how quickly can someone dig up the comments that Alex Hleb was making about Cesc. that is, before Hleb found out he was surplus to requirements.

Any, this blogger is pretty classy...sheme that most associated with the club dont have the basic class that a parent teaches a child.

Have you people been living under a rock for the past few months!?!?

Do you HONESTLY think that Arsenal fans are angry because of this ONE incident!?!? F@&k no! There has been an onslaught of pestering from the barcelona camp going on for quite a while, and the mighty barcelona didn't have the decency to try to do it behind closed doors.

If this were the only incident that barcelona and both pique and puyol (plus many other players) were involved in the public TAPPING UP of Cesc Fabregas, then i would be more forgiving of this "joke". However we all know that couldn't be further from the truth now don't we.

So all this "It's just a Joke", "Arsenal fans relax", "Get over it" can really stop, because I won't see it as a joke, I won't relax and I surely won't get over it because as long as barcalona continue with the disrespectful nature in which they are carrying about their pursuit for Fabregas, we the fans will never look at barcelona as a club of good intentions and neither will our club Arsenal.

PAY UP OR SHUT UP!

Stupid needless complaining.

Guys are having fun, they did imply racial,sexist or political overtones

Hence to those who find it offensive.

GET OVER IT.

agiamba - no body in Italy likes Balotelli so it doesnt matter what shirt he wear.

I mean an Italian TV station made Balotelli wear a Milan jersey (he's always said he grew up a Milan fan, not Inter) and Interistas laughed it off. Lighten up.

Ditto to Jose. Fabregas and Pique are childhood friends, it was a joke, get over it.

OhYes, I understand what you mean and its true that Arsenal fans are overreacting, but still it wasn't the smartest joke. Drunk or not, some pranks -especially ones that include the club's shirt- are not recommended.

Never-mind the passive comments and "preachers", I cant care less to be honest with you. Yet, I am taking it from our own club perspective, that wasn't right. it crossed the boarder and it wasn't funny at all, even for a Barca fan like me.

It was a wrong behavior, not a crime (Arsenal fans, get over it). Barca need to make sure to give explanations for Arsenal at least to show respect of a club to another. Regardless of what the monkeys of the madness carnival scream, we still need to keep calm and recognize our responsibilities, rather than get carried with this back and forth nonsense attacks.

Arsenal fans are a bunch of gaping Crevasses. I haven't seen that many battered women since I walked past the women's shelter on state street.

The best part about taking Cesc from you will be leaving you with nothing, he'll sit on our bench for a while, come on as a sub. You may or may not get the money you want for him, but here is the kicker....That money will go into your owners pockets, while Arsene Wagger replaces him with another 17 year old.

I apologize for nothing!

OMG Seriously? A Fucking apology? Like, no joke? Are you saying this with a straight face and from the bottom of your heart? Good fucking grief man relax it's a JOOOKKKEEE like haha that's funny as in you contract and expand your abs in a quick pulsating rhythm like your mind releases endorphins and you HAVE FUN!

If there were Messi-->Manchester city rumors and the Yaya slapped a City jersey on him during a friendly or something as A JOKE i'd laugh. Because it's funny. That's what you do when people tell jokes or pull pranks. They laugh.

These guys are drunk and high from winning a world cup, and Pique and Puyol are famous for their crazy antics. Don't get your panties in a twist. You people seriously are the ones that get pissed when someone puts a sign on your back saying "kick me" and you overreact so much that people start pulling more pranks on you just to fuck with you. How about I do this: I'll go to Rosell and convince him not to buy Fabregas. Then I'll convince him to buy you a sense of humor with the money he would have used for the transfer.

This is my first time on a Barca blog, and it's great to see that some Barca fans know how their club is behaving, and dislike it (100% of Barca fans who comment on Arsenal blogs are retarded morons) :)

It's not really you who should be apologizing, it's those 'friends' of Cesc's, Pique, Puyol, Xavi etc. Even if it was a joke (and jokes are meant to be funny; how can ANYONE possibly find this funny?), do the 'friends' of Cesc not realise what an awkward position they placed him in?

And WTF was Reina doing?

I don't kow much about Spains history, but I think that this is the most united squad that Spain have had ever? And after their greatest triumph, in MADRID of all places, Pique, Puyol and Reina made it all about Barca.

Btw, I would just like to point out that all Barca fans valuation of Cesc at around 30M is laughable. He had 19 goals and 19 assists in 36 games this season and just set up the winner in the World Cup Final. He is 23, definitely the best young midfielder in the world, and had Arsenal won a few trophies in the past few years and Barca a few less, he would probably have been recognized as the best midfielder in the world. And he's on a contract that has FIVE years left. Anything less than 50-60 mil is a joke, and a bad one.

Lots of La Liga fans accuse PL followers of not knowing anything of football outside of England (and accurately so), but had those same people actively followed the PL, they would realise just how big a joke 30m is. Didn't you buy Chrygrinski for 25 a couple of seasons back and sold Toure (28) for the same amount?

However, the apology (from you, not from Pique etc) is appreciated :)

'Arsenal are about to file charges against Barcelona for excessive tapping of a player According to sources Arsenal were collecting evidence till now and were hoping to avoid the situation but after the latest escapade they have left Arsenal with no other choice'

The man had a shirt put on him...Everyone Shut Up!

The apology is appreciated-it shows that you are intelligent enough to put yourself into the other person's shoes and see things from their perspective, which is a compliment to you.

But, the truth is that the apology should be coming from Pique, Puyol and the rest of the Barca players who were involved. Being drunk and giddy after their success is no excuse. It may have been a fun thing to do, a joke, but, if they could not appreciate at the time that it was a tasteless thing to do under the circumstances, there is no reason for them not to at least have enough class to issue an apology now that they have sobered up.

Unfortunately, the reality is that the management and players at Barcelona have conducted themselves in a despicable manner this summer.

It is perhaps understandable that LaPorta, Rosell and the Spanish media would try to play on Fabregas' stated desire to return to Barca at some point to try to force Arsenal to sell him to Barca at a bargain price. Understandable, good business, but not very ethical or done with class.

The behavior of the Barca players on the Spanish squad-Puyol, Pique, Xavi and Iniesta, in particular-have been possibly even worse. They say that the reason that they want Cesc to transfer to Barca-and are doing everything they can to help pressure Arsenal into a transfer-is because they want him to play with them because they are friends and that Cesc wants to move to Barca for the same reason. OK, fine, it is understandable that a group of friends would want to play and win titles together. But, these players are supposed to be Cesc's friends. However, if they were truly his friends, as professional football players, they would recognize that it is not in Fabregas' interests for him to move to Barca at this point in his career. If they were truly his friends, they would not be pressuring him to accept a transfer that will hurt him both professionally as a player and financially.

Fabregas has become a star player at Arsenal because the offense is tailored to go through him. He is the field general for the Arsenal team. As such, to Arsenal he is worth the 60 million that they want for him. If Cesc returns to Arsenal he will only become a bigger star, especially if Arsenal wins some silverware the next year or two.

If he goes to Barca, Fabregas will be in the same situation that he was in with the Spanish team in South Africa: he will be lucky if he gets to play 50% of the time because Xavi and Iniesta will start. Instead of being the star of the team, he will just be a super-substitute. He will languish on the bench until Xavi or Iniesta are past their prime and his game will suffer. While they would like to get Cesc as the eventual replacement for Xavi or Iniesta down the road, it's no wonder that Barca are only willing to pay 30-40 million for Fabregas to be a super-sub the next couple of seasons.

If Cesc stays at Arsenal for the next 1-2 seasons, he will only get better and become a bigger and more valuable star as he approaches the prime of his career. As one of the biggest stars in the world he will command a transfer fee of at least 60 million without question and will get a percentage of that fee that is much larger than what he will get by making a move to Barca now. Additionally, with Xavi and Iniesta getting older, Cesc would then return to Barca as a hero-a superstar coming home to take over from its aging stars and help the club maintain its excellence. He would be at the top of his game and the top of his fame.

By pressuring Cesc to transfer to Barca now, his supposed friends on that squad are asking him to sacrifice his stardom--his opportunity to gain fame and glory--his game and a lot of money just to come and play with them. It would help them, but it would really be detrimental to Cesc. But, they don't care. If they have to play on their friendship with him, play on his desire to come home someday; if they have to embarrass him in public in front of thousands of people, so be it.

With "friends" like that, who needs enemies?

I can't blame Barcelona's management for trying to steal Fabregas on the cheap now rather than have to pay what he will command as a superstar if he stays at Arsenal in a couple of years. But, the way that they have gone about it is classless.

However, what Puyol, Pique, Iniesta, Xavi and the rest of Fabregas' "friends" at Barca have done this summer to their "friend" Cesc is worse than classless. Drunk or giddy or not, they should-and I believe do-know better. They don't just owe Arsenal and its fans an apology, if they are truly his friends, they really owe Cesc Fabregas an apology: an apology for letting their desire to play with him and to have him help them get in the way of what they know will be in his best interests now and in the long run. They owe Cesc an apology for betraying his friendship for their own selfish interests.

To Barcelona fans: Let Cesc Fabregas do what is in his own best interests and, ultimately, in the best interests of Barca. Let him stay at Arsenal for the next couple of seasons and become the superstar that he has the talent to be. With Iniesta and Xavi, Barca still will have enough talent to challenge for and win titles without Cesc. Then, let Cesc return to Barca an even better player than he is now-a better player than he would be if he sat on the bench and only played half the time for Barca during that time-to lead your club as a mature, battle-tested leader on the field and in the clubhouse, worth every euro that his transfer fee costs. Cesc Fabregas will be able to do more for Barca if you do this than he will be able to do if your club persists in trying to pressure Arsenal and Cesc into a transfer now.

Arsenal Guys please take it as a joke! And still if ur furious then assume that they introduced him as 'barca's future' not barca's immediate future. And also assume that the shirt 'only resembled' blaugrana color but wasnt one!

First of all, congratulations to all the Spanish and Catalan fans on your World Cup victory. You deserved it and Im sure that all of England is quite rightly jealous of your great team of players.

Now on to Cesc. All Arsenal fans know Cesc will leave to join your club. He has never said otherwise, but the constant 'tapping up' of him by your Exec's, Xavi, Puyol and Pique is beyond a joke.

Arsenal have said he isn't for sale and he has 5 years left of the deal he signed last year. As great a club as Barca are, you're team and board are a reason for you to be ashamed. Surely enough is enough.

Thanks, looks like this Barca blog has a lot more class than the actual club.
Actually, as an Arsenal fan I can see this was a light-hearted bit of fun for a team celebrating a fantastic world cup triumph. As numerous others have mentioned it's all the Barca players non-stop comments which have really riled Arsenal fans. Well, that and the fact that Barca's hilarious initial bid was about £40 million too low.

And let's put this "Arsenal stole Fabregas" to bed once and for all shall we. His contract was up, Barca were yet to offer him a new deal and Arsenal offered him the choice of coming to London. Cesc chose to come to Arsenal, not because of the money on offer but for the chance to develop. Yes, he has progressed much quicker and further than he would have at Barca. It's Arsenal, not Barca who have made him what he is today.

I think everyone one knows Cesc would love to play for Barca one day and no-one begrudges him this. Ironically it's the Barca tactics over the course of this summer that will guarantee he won't be leaving this time around.

@Don Andres

how did arsenal sign cesc ? was Cesc respectful to barca ?

Puyol should have known better. That was a mistake, no matter how you see it.

Barca are simpy classless, and this has clearly filtered through to their players, and seemimgly Reina of, amazingly, Liverpool. This is simply disgusting behaviour and shows a complete lack of respect by a morally and financially bankrupt club and its players.

GUNNERS FANS:

Chill . . . get a sense of humour. Even Bendtner took some time out from loving himself to chuckle - before missing a glaringly open net.

I wonder though.. if I were cesc and asked wenger if it were possible for me to switch barca. Would i be happy if they bid so low and how their public statements are tarnishing his arsenal image? You got to consider that he is one of the best midfielders already at 23 and only will get better. And he has a 5 year long contract with 120K a week. And i guess he is now a world cup winner as well all at the age of 23. Pay what is due and everyone would be happy. Stop all the underhand tricks to lower the price. And to all the barca fans saying that he is one of yours and you dont have to pay the market value... First, im pretty sure he signed for arsenal on his own accord and he was to compensate the transfer fee of Van Bronckhorts and (i cant confirm this but also for some outstanding fee for petit and overmars) From an arsenal standpoint; why would they sell the most prized asset on a cheap especially to a club using underhand tactics who also still owes them money for Henry and Helb.

Well it is rather classless. But hear me out, if this was a one time incident this summer then fine. But you got to understand where Arsenal fans are coming from. It is no secret that Cesc has always dreamed of playing for Barca's first team one day and by all means he should, i have nothing against a footballer wanting to play for his native club. However for the last month and a half, everyone Barca associated has been going on non-stop about how cesc wants to play for Barca right now. And all this comes from that interview where Cesc was asked "if you leave arsenal, which club would it be for?" He said i would love to play for barca (Come on... that's like asking what day comes after monday). This lead to Barca going on a media led drive to announce their intentions of getting cesc and how he was super important,how he has barca's DNA, how he would be much better off in barca and that he has stated to want to come for barca so it's a win win situation. All this goes on for 2 weeks and then they place a embarrassing low bid of 29M pounds. Arsenal then responds - no thanks we arent interested, dont bother coming back, it'll be a waste of your time and mine. And cesc also says that he'll leave his future in the hands of arsenal. By right that should be end of story isnt it? Nope, we get barca's president saying that they wont be held to ransom for him and wont be paying anything over 40M euros. Did something get translated wrongly somewhere here? THen you have Xavi Puyol and Pique talking about how cesc wants to be transfer and would love it at barca. It seemed that everytime that had time to speak during the world cup was about Cesc. Come on already show some respect ? Cant all this be done behind closed doors or atleast offer 40M and see what happens. It's like going to a luxury car shop and saying you want to buy their ferrari for a 100 bucks and when you are rejected, you come out saying that ferrari will be happier with me and i'll take better care of it. So please take 150bucks, i wont pay more for somethign that wants me.

Actually, they will not have 150M to spend each season as the payments on the loan have mostly come from the selling of the condo complexes. They stand to be debt free soon, but the payments will only come as there are units to sell. Arsenal still have to be fiscally responsible regardless of debt.
Still though, it is vitally important for Arsenal to be sucessful in the next one or two seasons and actually win something as they have the highest season tickets in the EPL, and the Emirates Stadium is only the cash-cow it is as long as the tickets sell.

Gizmo:

http://www.scifiworld.es/image...

Arsenal's Debt has decreased from 700M to 200M in 3 years and it is well known that Arsenal's debt in due to the construction of the stadium. Looking at the decrease in debt, we can see that the Arsenal pays back 160M a year back. So in 2 more years they would have 150M to spare each season

It's ridiculous to say that Pique and Puyol have no manners, as a Barca fan, it was a joke between friends, or is it that the Arsenal fans are afraid that the one good "SPANISH" player goes back home to his roots?? It was a joke between players that had just won the world cup, and Cesc has officially been asked to join the Barca, its not classless, classless was how the Netherlands played the Final, its a joke not being or acting cheap!

total lack of class!!! They should have been more responsible ....Doing something like this and saying sorry is not the solution for everything...I am not a arsenal fan but Barcelona and real madrid are pathetic!!!both are same in this aspect of unsettling players from other clubs...
People of other clubs respected you for playing proper football if you these activities it wont take long to hate you guys

What an over-reaction...
The joke was funny... anyone who is offended by this is just insecure about something or another.

and that whole, "What if it was Puyol with team whatever's jersey..." argument, well, simply put; Puyol currently plays with the team he wants to play for. So I wouldn't give a crap if Casillas/Ramos/Alonso put a Madrid Jersey, or if Reina/Torres put a Liverpool jersey on him.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/spo...

For those who care about facts.

Azabaxe, You are right my apologies to LadyGooner for no understanding her comment and jumping to conclusions. However the comment does stand for those calling Barcelona bankrupt or about to go bankrupt.

Once again apologies to LadyGooner.

She said "morally bankrupt", which I don't expect you to accept. But the rest of us have no problem with that description of your club. Financially, when your club has to take out a large loan to meet payroll, it means that it has issues meeting operating costs. At this level, it means that the club is living beyond its means. So you're financially bankrupt as well.

Tienes razon Jose, perdon. Que fregaos es Gizmo.

No tutomate! El viejo que nos vendio Gizmo nos dijo que no le des de comer a los duendes despues que oscurezca!

LadyGooner, Bankrupt? Do you care about facts? Or are baseless accusations more appealing? READ THIS!

http://soccerlens.com/the-foot...

Barca is 270 million in debt, Arsenal 203 million. Barca 11 titles in the past 5 years, Arsenal .....

So I think Barca wins in the debt to titles category.

Gooner Burn Barca down, do you really want your club embarrassed by a far superior one again?

Or is it a call to violence? Cause that would be classy.

Thanks for the apology. I would have found this funny had it not been for the sober behaviour of puyol, pique and the rest of that barca mob, with regard to the tapping-up of Cesc. This utterly repugnant and morally bankrupt club have acted in such a disgusting manner this summer and seem to think that they have divine right to do as they please. I'm sure I speak for a lot of Arsenal fans when I say I have lost all previous respect for this club.

Wish I could wish you well for the coming season but that would be lie and would probably make me physically ill. HALA MADRID!!!

Thanks for the apology but still I think it was a low blow and stupid mean joke. I wish Puyol and Pique a very unsuccessful season at Barca just for what they did to insult us.

The disrespect shown to Arsenal from, Xavi, Pique, Puyol and the rest over the whole tournamnet - when they were sober has been disgusting.

I just hope Arsenal face Barcalona in this seasons Champions League - then Barca, their players and fans will come face to face with the fans they have been mocking all summer.

The spanish UnClassy twats can go die in a hole, fucking disrespecting bunch of Diving_C**TS

how did we sign Cesc? WEll, i believe that Barça got a £7m player in Van Bronckhorst in return for EUR2m, so you tell me how respectful that appears to be. If it is true that Barcelona are up sh it creek with their finances, I do hope that M. Platini comes down on them hard (like Iniesta does when he's diving to get a player booked) and bans them from European competition.

»»Arsene Knows««

If this was a one-off incident, with nary a word of Barca wanting Cesc beforehand, I could absolutely understand the 'prank/joke' played here. Drunk, just won the WC, and best friends, who clearly enjoy playing together. Why not?
Problem is, this entire summer Arsenal fans have had to endure seemingly every person associated with Barca tapping Cesc Fabregas up. This despite an empathic NO from Arsenal with regards to selling.
You could probably make a library with the amount of quotes regarding 'Cesc to Barca' this summer, and this just takes the cake.
I appreciate the Barca fans who see this and go 'oh shit. Why?' Unfortunately any (or if) apology from Pique and Puyol will seem quite hollow. It's like Tiger Woods saying sorry. Your only sorry for the consequences of your actions, not the actual deeds.

how did arsenal sign cesc ? were they respectful to barca ?

Thanks for the apology but the problem was never with Barca supporters who in their majority don't even think Fabregas is needed at Barca. On the other hand the way the club at large has been behaving is simply in total disregard of UEFA rules (besides being morally abject). I can't wait for Arsenal to report Barca to UEFA for tapping up Cesc so abusively.

Thanks for the apology but this has gone to far - your club has absolutly no class whatsoever. Two spainish players have just won the world cup and all they can do during their homecoming party is think about trying to poach another clubs players.

I used to admire Barca and they way you play the game - never again

Seriously all of you, cules and gunners, get a sense of humor. After all this drama between both clubs, this is a joke between childhood friends (which Pique and Cesc are). It has nothing to do with you.

I'm angry with the way spanish teams act as a whole. Look at the way Ronaldo left Manchester. They think there is one rule for them and one rule for everyone else. I thought of Barcelona as my second team until this Cesc scenario. If we do lose Cesc I wouldn't be suprised if we just go in and nick another one of their fantastic youngsters. I think Cesc would be stupid to leave now because based on the players that played for spain in the world cup he will be a bench warmer until either xavi or iniesta loose a yard of pace. Will someone please show Sergio what it is like to be really shot because every time someone goes in for a tackle on him he goes down like he has been shot. He is another disgrace to Barca.

I think we should send eboue into there dressing room to hide stuff.

What Puyol and Piquet are doing here, is saying Barca are more important than Spain. This was Spain's victory, why involving a highly inflamatory case as this into celebrations. But I agree, big regards for your apology. Most Barca fans are good people, like most Gooners.

for me to find this stupid act offensive i would first have to have some respect for barca. i do not. the club has no class and this just proves it.

No class.

I agree it isnt the same situation, but do you really think it's justification enough and in good taste to bring it up that Cesc is catalan given the current situation?

http://masneta.blogspot.com/20...

Pique loves Zlatan

PS Well done spain, shame about the unemployment rate. and shame the players made half a million a head while the construction sector is in the shitter.

Your apology is thoughtful, a shame your club and its players dont have any class AT ALL. Disgraceful thing to do with another Club's captain.

I used to respect Barca...not anymore

Thank you, but sadly the club you profess to love and the players you support are the important ones here, and they are a shower of shit. Never have I seen such disrespect. In Madrid too. I'll bet the real Spaniards were very impressed. I look forward to Barca's bankruptcy.

Cesc's sister, Carlota, has spoken about this on Twitter (http://twitter.com/carlotafabr... "Eieii!!! C'mon! It was JUST A JOKE from his friends and he didnt know what they were doing! Not all in this live is an offens!" (sic)
Thank you to the Arsenal fans who have accepted the apology and understood the situation. To those of you who are angry, believe me, I understand you, but I also think there was no malice involved from Puyol, Piqué or Reina. The club's tactics to get Cesc to sign for us are another matter and worthy of another discussion and apology altogether, but are not related to this incident.
And certainly Cesc didn't have any part in this prank, as he took off the shirt as soon as he could and looked a bit upset afterwards.
deejaynamo, I think Helge's explained very well why it isn't the same situation, although I'd be very upset if Puyol ever wore any other shirt!

Helge, Cesc is Arsenal's captain.

thanks for the apology. if your club acted with the same kind of class, that would be nice.

Piqué is renowned for all his pranks, isn't he?

It was only a joke under friends which can be misunderstood, but I think there wasn't any bad intention, seconds later Cesc got the Barca jersey off and only kept wearing a catalan flag.
Nonetheless, if you see how good friends they are, it's almost certain that one day, Cesc will come to Barca. I hope it won't be within the next 2 years.

deejaynamo, that's an inappropriate comparison. First of all, Puyol is THE Catalan, secondly he never played for Real Madrid. Cesc is Catalan, played for this club and does certainly not hate FC Barcelona...

i appreciate the apology, and i also appreciate that you are sensitive to how us gooners are about this. this is clearly a "boys-will-be-boys" kind of incident, probably without any real malice intended, but i am doubt i am the only gooner that cannot quite see the funny side of this.

It was clear to me Cesc hid his face very quickly when he realized the shirt and he never put it on. Think this proves where he stand in relation to the constant bad behaviour of Barca players...he took a very quick stand and could have done nothing else

Oh c'mon now guys these players here were drunk, literally and saying the club ordered them to do this is sick. It was a joke. Not a good one but when you were drunk have you ever made a good joke?
I don't think so..
Here's a video of Cesc and Puyi drinking: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
and guys Cesc is just great friends with Xavi, Iniesta, Puyi and Pique. Even best friends with Pique. They aren't trying to unsettle him. They are just hanging around with him because they like him. There is no plan to push him straight to Barcelona. They were the same when he was in our club and when he wasn't. They are simply friends. Get a grip, there is no plan.
My apologies too, but seriously think harder. Of course they'd want their old friend back, but there is nothing like a plan against Arsenal.
Sorry for that again and hopefully Pique and Puyi will apologies later.

It's not without reason they are called TAPELONYA.

Total lack of class from the Spanish - no surprise there. Good point made about Puyol and a Madrid shirt. I hate both the Spanish whores of Real Madrid and Barcelona and would have loved to have seen their players hammered last night. Hope they emplode like the French did after 2002. Fabregas can go and warm the same bench Hleb did and Thierry is. Thing is, Fabregas brought us nothing in his time at the club. No trophies so will we really miss him? After this I'm not sure he can come back anyway.

Thank you for the apology, i just wish your club and it's players had as much class as you do.

Very nice apology, but this has gone too far. I really hope that other fans start condemning this kind of behavior by Barcelona players.

The diving... I can take, the players constantly calling for opponents to get booked... I can take, the getting outplayed by better players... I can take but the actions of your board and players in the last 2 months has been nothing short of a disgrace nicely summed up by this video.

Classless club, classless players but it would appear, classy fans (or maybe it's just you).

i don't want to get too upset by this because it's a good thing you've done saying how out of order this is

BUT BARCA PLAYERS MAKE ME SO F******** angry it's unreal. It doesn't just have to be a manager or a chairman or a president of a football club to tap up a player - it can be the players as well. you can't stop what they say to him in the spanish camp etc but all the cesc DNA blah blah blah he will play for us blah blah blah and now this is going too far. TAPPING UP PLAIN AND SIMPLE

A total disgrace to do this to Cesc he looked very embarrassed and they should not have done this.Sick of barca players tapping up Cesc. l would not be surprised if Barca football club told them to do this.Sort of thing your slimy president would do.They should be repoted for tapping up..... .

Thanks for the apology, it was definitely in poor taste. Expect a torrent of Arsenal fans hurling abuse shortly though. This whole thing has most of us seeing red. To think that just after we played you guys in the champions league, I thought of your team as my second favorite. How that's changed.

nice apology but it is a joke how your players especially pique, puyol, iniesta and xavi trying to unsettle cesc. he will be one day back in spain but it can be in more years as you thought. 1 season more for sure at the arsenal but iam still hopefull for more seasons to come with him!!!

Fair play to you mate! I am an Arsenal fan and deep down I know Cesc is going to end up at Barcelona in the end, I don't think he'll leave this season though.
However, credit to Cesc who quickly took the shirt off showing he is very loyal and genuine

I have had a lot of rage against Barca for their behaviour for so long, loosing my respect for the Catalan cause...should blame the government not the people...This is a respectful and gracious apology...I wish more people in who govern Barca had the same respect...Thank you

I have a question. Would Puyol mates ever put a madrid shirt on him? This is wrong on every level

fair dues

This is a gracious and classy apology which I think most Arsenal fans will accept.Barca's constant prpopaganda warto obtain Fabregas has alienated many Arsenal fans who loved the great football Barcelona played against us in the Champions League.
This silly prank will not help at all but it was at a very understandably light-hearted moment.Cesc himself would not disrespect arsenal no matter how much he loves Barcelona.