Fabregas has made 303 appearances for the Gunners, scoring 57 goals
Cesc Fabregas is a step closer to becoming a Barcelona player after starting the first of two medicals in the Spanish city.
On Sunday, Arsenal and Barca confirmed an "agreement in principle" over the sale of Fabregas.
He will discuss personal terms and is expected to be unveiled at 1300 BST after signing his contract.
It means the 24-year-old is set to return to the team he left as a 16-year-old in 2003.
"We understand Cesc's desire to move to his home-town club
and have now accepted an offer from Barcelona," said Arsenal manager
Arsene Wenger.
"We have been clear that we didn't want Cesc to leave and that remains the case.
"We thank Cesc for his contribution at Arsenal and wish him future success."
Barcelona have been chasing Fabregas since last summer. As
BBC Sport revealed on Friday, Arsenal will receive a guaranteed £30m
transfer fee, with a further £5m dependent on the number of games played
and trophies won by the Spaniard during his time at the Nou Camp.
News of the deal was confirmed at half-time of the first leg
of Barcelona's Spanish Super Cup match against Real Madrid on Sunday,
which ended 2-2.
The Spanish champions stated on their official website that
Fabregas is scheduled to sign his contract at 1130 BST before being
unveiled to the media at 1300 BST. Meanwhile, Wenger will have to face
the media ahead of Tuesday's Champions League qualifier against Udinese.
Fabregas trained with his Arsenal team-mates for the final time on Friday morning and was not part of Wenger's squad for Saturday's Premier League opener against Newcastle, which finished 0-0.
He had missed the club's summer tour of Asia as well as other
pre-season games, including the Emirates Cup, because of a hamstring
injury.
The Spaniard, who has 58 caps for his country, made 303
appearances for the Gunners during his eight-year spell in north London,
scoring 57 goals in all competitions.
In October 2003, he became Arsenal's youngest first-team
player when he made his debut against Rotherham United in the Carling
Cup aged 16 years and 177 days.
He also became the club's youngest goalscorer when he netted
against Wolves in a 5-1 win that December. Fabregas was part of the
Arsenal team that beat Manchester United on penalties to win the 2005 FA
Cup, which turned out to be his only major trophy with the Gunners.
He went on to become Arsenal captain in November 2008.
Striker Robin van Persie is likely to take over as the new permanent
Arsenal skipper, although he will be suspended for the Udinese match
after being shown a red card against Barcelona in the Champions League
last season.
When quizzed on the futures of Fabregas and Samir Nasri - who
BBC Sport understands is close to a move to Manchester City - at a news
conference on Friday, Wenger had said he expected "nobody to leave"
Arsenal.
Fabregas sets up Iniesta for winning goal in 2010 World Cup Final (UK users only)
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