By Dan Roan
BBC Sports News Correspondent 
Fabregas started his career with Barcelona at the age of 10
Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas is on the verge of signing for European champions Barcelona for a fee believed to be around £35m.
The transfer, one of the most protracted in Premier League history, is yet to be completed but Arsenal expect it to be done by the weekend.
According to a senior source at the club, all the funds generated by the sale will be reinvested in new players.
Arsenal have been linked with Scott Dann, Phil Jagielka and Gary Cahill.
Fabregas, 24, would have been unable to feature for Barcelona in the Champions League if he played a part in Arsenal's match with Udinese next week, motivating both clubs to complete the deal as swiftly as possible.
The BBC understands a fee of £30m, plus over £5m of additional performance-related payments is close to being reached for Fabregas.
It is understood that, if he is sold, the Spaniard will be due £4m in compensation - £1m for each year of his contract he did not complete - but may be prepared to forego that payment in order to facilitate a deal.
The transfer fee is significantly less than the £40m that Arsenal had been holding out for and suggests that Arsenal felt they had no choice but to sell a player who wanted to leave.
Both Arsenal and Barcelona are eager to complete any transfer before the Gunners face Udinese in their Champions League
Fabregas joined Arsenal from the Catalan giants in 2003 and, since making his name with the Gunners, has been persistently linked with a return to his home club.
If the deal goes through as expected, Fabregas will become Barcelona's second major signing of the summer following their £23m purchase of Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez.
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