The thinking, last summer, was that Arsenal did not want their former midfielder back.
Ahead of Arsenal's weekend league clash with Chelsea, at The Emirates, Arsene Wenger has been fielding questions on his former captain.
Cesc Fabregas will return to his old stomping ground, on Sunday, and the Frenchman hopes he gets an easy time of it from the Gunners faithful.
The Spaniard left Arsenal, for Barcelona, in 2011 but his old side had a buy-back clause as part of his sale.
Having purchased Mesut Ozil the previous summer Arsenal never seemed part of the story when it came to Fabregas' Premier League return.
Wenger, speaking at a press conference previewing the tie, seemed to suggest the decision not to return to Arsenal was the player's, not his.
'The regret I have is that he wanted to leave [in the first place],' Wenger said. 'We had a big influence on his life and I would be uncomfortable having to justify why he is not here.'
He continued, 'It should be the other way around and you should ask him the question.
'I want every player to be respected and when Cesc comes on Sunday to the Emirates he should be respected like he deserves it.'
