BARCELONA have submitted a written offer for Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas, the Catalan club have confirmed.

Barca are now in formal discussions in an effort to lure the Spanish international away from the Emirates.

Barca director general Joan Oliver told club website www.fcbarcelona.cat: “Everyone knows that Cesc wants to play for this club and everyone knows that we also want this. But there is a third major player, which is Arsenal.

“Any deal must go through them and June 1 was the beginning of the period of official negotiations.

“Until earlier there were informal conversations, but since yesterday these are formal - and the usual mechanism is to present a formal and concrete offer.

“So yesterday afternoon, we submitted a written bid to Arsenal.”