Fabregas, who left Barcelona as a 16-year-old to join Arsenal three years ago, maintained that there will be no room for sentiment in Wednesday's final.

    "At the moment, all I'm thinking about is Arsenal. All I want is to win this trophy for this club and the people who are in it and, of course, for Arsene Wenger and the fans because I believe that they deserve it."

    "Everyone was scared of leaving Barcelona as it is one of the best teams in the world so everyone was like 'there is nothing better than this so why should I leave even if I'm on the bench?'" said Fabregas.

    "I'm not like this. All I want is to work hard and play. I wasn't doing it by winning 20-0 or 30-0 every weekend. "I don't think you work hard for this and I thought the best decision was to come here."

    He has no doubts that he made the right move and confirmed: "No, I never thought I had made a mistake. I knew that it takes time to get the physical strength.

    "But fortunately the Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believed in me and I showed him that I could be in the team.

    He also paid tribute to Patrick Vieira 30, who left the Gunnersfor Juventus last summer to seek missed glory in European Champions League.

    The Frenchman's successor Fabregas said he had reaped the benefit of learning under his former team-mate.

    "Patrick was very helpful to me not only on the pitch but also off it," said the 19-year-old.

    "I will always be grateful to him for what he did for me."

    Vieira spent nearly nine years at Highbury but, despite their domestic success, the Gunners always fell short in Europe during his time at the club.

    It is ironic that the club have reached their inaugural Champions League final in the first season after his exit and, in the process, overcame his Juventus side.

    Vieira was overshadowed by Fabregas during that game but the teenager is modest about his performance and insists the influence of the two years he spent playing under his former team-mate will have a long-lasting effect.

    He added: "As a person he is a fantastic guy and I will always remember the time that I spent with him on and off the pitch." Enditem