Stuttgart’s Aliaksandr Hleb: I Regret Leaving Arsenal

Aliaksandr Hleb has expressed his regret at his decision to leave Arsenal after he failed to impose himself on the first-team at Spanish giants Barcelona.

Hleb joined the Gunners from German outfit Stuttgart in 2005 and became a mainstay in the north London club's starting XI.

The Belarusian struggled at the Camp Nou, where he signing in 2008, and has now returned to Stuttgart on a season-long loan deal. However, he has admitted that leaving England was a move he looks back on with remorse.

"Of course I regret leaving Arsenal," Hleb told ESPN.

"I was playing every week for one of the most exciting sides in Europe, a team that 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 Arsene 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.

"For me, leaving Arsenal was not a good move."

Hleb went on to explain his reasons for having to leave Barca, citing a lack of first-team opportunities as the main cause of his departure for Germany.

"Barca were my dream club as a kid, but I couldn't continue with them if the chance to play was not coming," he lamented.

"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."

Poor thing...well i hope this opens the eyes of your present youngsters... There is no other happy place than Arsenal under Arsene Wenger... []

You'd think by now they'd realise that the grass is very rarely greener on the other side.

Its a come & get me plea. :p