Barcelona midfielder Xavi expressed his disappointment with the club's failure to land Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas , but, echoing remarks made by the Catalan club's vice president, stressed that the transfer was not dead.

"We've given up on the idea of him arriving now, but maybe he'll come in January when Arsenal are out of the Premier League title race," he was quoted as saying by Tuttomercato. "Their team are just not competitive."

"Arsenal are wrong to have forced him to remain there, they can't just hold him against his will," added the Barcelona vice captain.

Fabregas accepted at the weekend that he wouldn't be moving to Barcelona after Arsenal rejected a final 40-million-euro bid for the midfielder from the Nou Camp outfit.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted that Fabregas was torn between staying at the Gunners and moving to Barcelona, but hailed the player for his "respect."