Barcelona striker Thierry Henry claims it is "vital" Arsenal keep Cesc Fabregas at the club, despite reported interest from the Catalan giants.

In virtually every transfer window the Catalan giants are linked with the Spain international, who has flourished at the Emirates.

The Gunners' stance remains unmoved - they insist the 22-year-old, who is on a long-term contract, is going nowhere.

Ex-Arsenal favourite Henry believes it is vital his former club retain Fabregas' services and that he does not join him at the Nou Camp.

"It is vital Arsenal keep Cesc. Vital," said Henry.

"He is the Arsenal captain and he is young and I'm sure he wants to give something back to the club. Knowing him, he will.

"But it is vital they keep Cesc."

Henry remains a fan of the Gunners following his eight-year stint there prior to heading to Barca.

Arsenal have now gone five years without a major trophy and Henry hopes they still have enough quality to succeed this season despite Samir Nasri's injury and Emmanuel Adebayor's exit.

"When I talk about Arsenal, my heart will always rule my head," he continued.

"It is not easy to lose Adebayor and what happened to Nasri was not what Arsene [Wenger] would have been hoping for.

"But I hope they can win the league and win everything they can, that's always my feeling about my old club.

"What I know about Arsenal from my time there was not about finishing in the top four - it was about winning the league.

"That's how I saw it when I was there and I still see it like that, they are a big club. Arsene has proved so many times he can win things without spending a lot of money and hopefully they can do it again.

"The only thing that matters to me is not who is in the top four, it's who is going to be top and I know that's how Arsene sees it too."