Gone fishing



It is not a great time to be an Arsenal, but here’s a humorous little straw for downtrodden Gooners to cling to. The club has signed the son of the man who spearheaded part one of the campaign to bring Cesc Fabregas back to Barcelona.

Guim Laporta, son of ex-Barca president Joan, is now playing for Arsenal’s youth team after moving from Barcelona’s Infantil A side.



Laporta Senior was the man who lodged the Catalan giants’ first bids for Cesc back in the summer of 2010. And he was still stirring things up earlier this year.

He was quoted as saying: “The English come here to go ‘fishing’. They came to fish for Gerard Pique and they came to fish for Cesc Fabregas. It is an issue of justice that we (Barca) now want to recover them.

“I would have liked it if Cesc came to Barca in the way that Pique came. He abandoned Manchester United, making it clear he was going to Barca. They were players who were formed here.”

Alas, Guim’s move to the Gunners was nothing to do with English ‘fishing’. His mum has moved to London and the youngster has decided to switch clubs to stay with her.

The 14-year-old is younger than Fabregas was when he moved to England. Arsenal will be hoping to make another nice return on another hotly-tipped youngster.