Cesc Fabregas to Chelsea: 'Arsene Wenger told me I wasn't needed at Arsenal because he was happy with Mesut Ozil,' midfielder reveals

Spaniard joined Chelsea for £30 last week after Gunners turned down option to re-sign their former captain

Cesc Fabregas poses with his Chelsea shirt after signing (chelseafc.com)

Cesc Fabregas revealed today that he chose to join Chelsea after being told by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger that the Gunners had sufficient cover for his position.

A clause in Fabregas' contract gave Arsenal first option to re-sign their former captain from Barca, but Wenger decided against bringing the 27-year-old back to the Emirates.

The reason for that, according to Fabregas, is that Wenger felt the Gunners were well stocked for midfield playmakers, with Arsenal having splashed out a club-record fee on Germany star Mesut Ozil last summer.

After speaking with Wenger, Fabregas said he mulled over several other offers before being swayed by Mourinho to move to Stamford Bridge for a fee believed to be in the region of £30million.

Speaking about his move at a Spain World Cup press conference in Curitiba, Fabregas said: "There came a moment when I decided my time at Barcelona was over and I only tried to look for the best option for me.

"Arsenal were the first option due to a clause in the contract. We spoke with Wenger and he said that with Ozil they had this position well covered.

"From there, I had other very good offers and I looked for the best in the Premier League, which is where I wanted to go.

"I spoke with Jose Mourinho and he won me over, he convinced me, told me what I wanted to hear and from there everything was very quick.

"I hope that this new phase of my career goes phenomenally well."