Hleb, again, laments move away from Arsenal

Former Arsenal winger Alexander Hleb has once again been grieving to the media about how much he regrets leaving Arsenal for Spanish giants Barcelona. Hleb was not successful in cementing a regular starting spot in the Spanish side, and in hindsight, it has to be said that we're not exactly missing our Belarus international, are we?

Yes, he provided options and his ball retention was one of the best in the world, but he was frustrating in the sense that he would never take the opportunity to shoot, and in Samir Nasri [his replacement] we have a player who is almost as good in retaining possession but also willing to take a shot at goal from distance.

So, whilst we're not missing Hleb as much as he's missing us, it's nice to hear another former Arsenal player reinforce the belief that no one actually gets better when they leave the club, or at least develop to become better players.

Hleb said: "Of course I regret leaving Arsenal. I was playing every week for one of the most exciting sides in Europe, a team which was always in the top-four in the Premier League and were Champions League contenders.

"Also, I was being guided by one of the best coaches in the world in Arsène Wenger. I owe him a great deal. I developed a better all-round game under him and I became more robust physically, learnt to look up more and play better passes and generally improved greatly as a team player. No player ever gets worse under Wenger.

"Obviously, I still look out for Arsenal each week and I hope they can do well this time. I think they will be in the top-four again and could even push for the title if they don't have the terrible injuries of last season. People forget the long unbeaten run they had after Christmas last season, which was a good sign for this season.

"For me, leaving Arsenal was not a good move. A footballer only exists when he takes to the field and makes a proper contribution to the team and even though I was part of a Barca squad that was almost unstoppable, it was hard not to feel detached from all the happiness and celebration at the end.

"Barca were my dream club as a kid, but I couldn't continue with them if the chance to play was not coming. I'm 28 and who knows how much time I've left in the game. I needed to move on and the chance to go back to a place that I feel happy in was the best solution."

Hleb is now back with his former club Vfb Stuttgart on a season-long loan, turning down the opportunity to move to Inter Milan as part of the deal to bring Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Spain.

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