Arsene Wenger will meet Cesc Fabregas on Thursday for the first time since the Spaniard said he had his heart set on a return to Barcelona.
Fabregas has been at the centre of a summer-long tug of war between Arsenal and the club with whom he started his career as a youngster.
Barca have not made any further moves for the midfielder since having a £30million bid rejected in June, shortly after Fabregas is understood to have met Wenger to express his desire to leave.
The Catalan giants' very public attempt at wooing the 23-year-old, thanks to a number of pleas from prominent players at the club, has ensured the story has rumbled on all summer despite Arsenal insisting Fabregas is not for sale at any price.
Wenger will hope to put all that speculation to bed when he is reunited with his skipper at the Gunners' members' media day at the Emirates Stadium this morning.
Fabregas, who has been on holiday since Spain's victorious World Cup campaign, is expected to meet Wenger before lining up alongside the Frenchman for the Arsenal team photo at their north London home.
The Spaniard will then embark on an open training session with his team-mates in front of 10,000 fans, who will no doubt express their desire for their star man to stay at the club he joined seven years ago.
Fabregas fuelled rumours he was set to renew his request to leave when he told 2,500 Barcelona fans in his Catalan hometown he hoped to "see you more often" earlier this week.
It remains unclear whether Barca would be willing to up their bid for Fabregas, who has made it clear he owes Wenger a lot for moulding him into one of the best players in the Premier League.
Despite all the confusion, one thing is clear - losing Fabregas would be a big loss to Arsenal.
Thomas Vermaelen, who joined the club from Ajax last season, acknowledges Fabregas is a vital part of the team.
"He is important to us because he is a very good player," said Vermaelen, at an event organised by London's biggest homeless charity Centrepoint.
"I hope he will stay. In football you never know but I'm confident that he will."
Fellow defender Bacary Sagna, meanwhile, is not fazed by Barcelona's attempts to lure Fabregas back to Spain.
"They can talk as much as they want but he is our player," said the France defender. "I think it would be a big loss if he were to leave. It's up to him to show us what he can do now."
