Barcelona remain aggrieved that they did not receive a significant transfer fee from Arsenal for Cesc Fàbregas, but the Catalan club will be compensated for a player who followed in the midfield player’s footsteps.

Fran Merida models himself on Fàbregas, but his journey to the Emirates Stadium will cost him up to £2.2 million after a Spanish civil court ruled that he had broken an agreement he had signed with Barcelona. Arsenal will foot the bill on behalf of the 17-year-old central midfield playmaker, which could be a small price to pay. The decision sets a powerful precedent for future claims and Barcelona are believed to be ready to pursue a similar course of action against Daniel Pacheco, a forward signed by Liverpool during the summer.

Merida was even given Fàbregas’s old room after arriving from Barcelona’s youth academy in the summer of last year. Of similar stature to his countryman, Merida was spotted playing for the Spain youth team.

He has impressed since marking his first appearance for Arsenal with a swerving strike, helping them to reach the FA Youth Cup semi-finals last term and creating the only goal for Spain against England to lift the Uefa Under-17 Championship in May.

Merida came on for his debut in the 2-0 victory against Newcastle United in the Carling Cup third-round tie last month. It is a similar path to that taken by Fàbregas, who dazzled with his calmness and maturity when he played in a Carling Cup tie at 16 years and 177 days four years ago. Arsenal had to pay £700,000 in compensation for Fàbregas after Barcelona asked Fifa to arbitrate.

Barcelona took Merida to court, claiming that he had signed a precontract agreement at 14 to sign professional terms two years later. They claimed that Merida had requested his registration a year later and disappeared for several months.

He then joined Arsenal when he was 16 without a fee being paid. Arsenal were not part of the court case and have said that they acted correctly. Barcelona protested to Uefa and sued the player for his “formation costs and future value”.

Merida is expected to figure in the Carling Cup this season, while his predecessor continues to shine in the Barclays Premier League. Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, said that he hopes that Fàbregas can maintain the same desire he has shown this season in leading the team to the top of the table. “I hope that he does not carry too much responsibility and continues to want to improve and be the best,” Wenger said. “The rest will come, as he has immense talent. If he keeps the same desire to progress, it will come by itself.

“We lost a great player [Thierry Henry, who left for Barcelona in the summer], so on an individual level we miss something, but we will try and compensate using our initiative and sharing responsibility at the heart of the side. That was sometimes too concentrated on one player from an attacking point of view. I hope that the loss will be compensated by the dividing up of these tasks.”

Tomas Rosicky has had a special insole put into his boots to help him to avoid a repetition of niggling injuries. The Arsenal midfield player hopes to return for the Czech Republic against Germany on Wednesday after missing five matches with a hamstring problem.