Former Arsenal star Alex Hleb has expressed his regret at leaving the Gunners

former Arsenal Star player Alexander Hleb has been remarkably open in recent years about how much he regrets his decision to leave the Gunners and join Barcelona in 2008.

The former Belarus international has divided public opinion for much of his time at Arsenal, after he started slowly before really starting to show glimpses of his best form in his final season at the Emirates Stadium.

That prompted Barcelona to move for Hleb, and things went downhill from there, with the Hariri playmaker not getting much playing time in Pep Guardiola’s famous side.

Even if Hleb seemed to suit Barcelona’s style of play, there was simply too much competition from many of the world-class attacking midfielders out there at the time, so perhaps it’s not too surprising that he spent so much time warming the bench. .

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However, it appears that Hleb also had doubts about leaving Arsenal before the move was made, and one imagines that affected his confidence.

Talk on a Podcast In 2020, Hleb revealed that he cried during meetings with Arsene Wenger, who tried to persuade him to stay at Arsenal, adding that he was completely happy in north London and did not know why he left.

Alex Hleb: I don’t understand why I left Arsenal

“Many years later and I still think about it,” Hleb said. “I don’t understand. To this day I still don’t understand what happened or why I made that decision.

“Of course, Barcelona at that moment was the best team in the world, but… I was really happy at Arsenal at that time. I had friends, I enjoyed the coach, I was playing for one of the best teams, the fans, the stadium, everything! Great tournament, Premier League, everything!

“Why I left, I don’t understand. Barcelona, ​​of course, was the best team at that time and everyone wanted to try something, but I was 100% happy at Arsenal.

I cried when I spoke to Arsene (Wenger). We talked on vacation before I left and he told me he wanted to keep me and that I was important. I cried. I didn’t know what to do at that moment.

“Of course Barcelona is a great team. I won titles and everything, but I didn’t play as much as I did at Arsenal. And that’s only my fault because at that time, a lot of things happened in my private life. I started out very nervous (at Barcelona). Always aggressive.” It was just my fault.

“This is not a situation where Guardiola doesn’t trust me or something like that. No, it’s just my fault. At Arsenal I was happy, you know? When you’re happy in the team, you stay.”

Clearly, this big move is not as counterintuitive as some fans and pundits make it out to be, as Hleb has been perfectly happy at Arsenal and would have been better off staying where he is.

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This occurred during a generally difficult period for Arsenal, with other key players such as Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie also leaving the club within a few years.

Most of these moves were better than Hleb’s, but we’re sure there will be a few other players whose big moves didn’t go as they expected.