Alexander Hleb and Arsene Wenger (Photo by Hamish Blair, Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
Former Arsenal star Alexander Hleb has spoken out in recent years about how deeply he regrets his decision to leave the Gunners for Barcelona in 2008.
The former Belarus international divided opinion for much of his time at Arsenal and has slowly begun to show his best form in his final season at the Emirates Stadium.
That prompted Barca to bring in Hleb, but things went downhill from there, with the silky playmaker not getting much playing time in Pep Guardiola’s famous side.
Even though Hleb looked well-suited to Barcelona’s style of play, there was so much competition for world-class attacking midfielders there at the time that it was perhaps unsurprising that he spent a lot of time warming up the bench.
Despite this, Hleb also appeared to have doubts about leaving Arsenal before the move was completed, which is thought to have affected his confidence.
talking about a podcast Back in 2020, Hleb revealed that he cried during a meeting with Wenger who tried to convince him to stay at Arsenal, while adding that he was happy in north London and had no idea why he left.
Hleb: I don’t understand why I left Arsenal
“Years later, 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 the decision I did.
“Of course, Barcelona were the best team in the world at the time, but I was really happy at Arsenal. I had friends, I liked the coach, I played for one of the best teams, the fans, the stadium, everything ! Fantastic Champions League, Premier League, everything!
“Why I wanted to leave, I don’t understand. Of course, Barcelona was the best team at the time and everyone wanted to try something, but actually I was 100 per cent happy at Arsenal.
“I cried when I spoke to Arsenal [Wenger]. We talked before we left for the holidays 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, Barca were a great team. I won titles and everything, but I didn’t play as much as I did at Arsenal. It was just my mistake because a lot was going on in my personal life at the time. I started very nervous [at Barcelona]. Always aggressive. It’s just my mistake.
“It’s not that Guardiola doesn’t trust me or anything like that. No, it’s just my mistake. I’m happy at Arsenal, you know? When you’re happy in the team, you need to stay. “
Clearly, big moves are not as taken for granted as some fans and pundits have suggested – Hleb is very happy at Arsenal and would probably do better if he stayed put.
This came at a generally difficult time for the Gunners, with other key players such as Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie also leaving the club within a few years.
While most of these moves worked better than Hleb’s, we’re sure there will be quite a few other players whose big moves didn’t live up to their expectations.
