Alexander Hleb has probably never regretted anything more in his life than leaving Arsenal.
He isn’t the only one.
The master of the pre-assist, Hleb effectively ended his career the day he opted to leave North London for the Catalan giants, spending four years there (although three of those were on loan), making only 19 league appearances.
Plying his trade in Turkey with Gençlerbirliği SK, he got there via Stuttgart, Birmingham, Wolfsburg, Krylia Sovetov Samara, BATE Borisov and Konyaspor.
Seven years after leaving Arsenal, he’s played for eight clubs. How very different it might have been had he stayed with Arsene Wenger, the man who paid €15m for him in 2005
“I had a great time at Arsenal, we had a great team spirit and were a fantastic team before I left for Barcelona, I miss those days,” he told the press in Turkey.
We missed you too, Alex, you stupid, stupid man.
What could have been, eh? Just one of many who left the club when they really would have been better staying.
Hleb is now 33, seven months younger than Tomas Rosicky.