One former Arsenal player has now admitted that he was in tears after Arsene Wenger sold him.
The legendary Frenchman managed hundreds of players during his time in North London. Many of them were hugely successful in the famous red and white.
Some of those players were fan favourites at Highbury or the Emirates before their Arsenal careers came to a sorrowful end.
One such player has now had his say about his departure, and he has revealed that if he could rewrite history, he would never leave.
Wojciech Szczesny says he ‘cried’ when Arsenal sold him
Arsenal signed Wojciech Szczesny when he was still a teenager back in January 2006.
The Pole, branded as a ‘very talented’ goalkeeper by Wenger (Arsenal.com), came through the academy and even went out on a loan spell to Brentford in 2009. Then, Szczesny was promoted to the first team and quickly became the club’s number one.
The now-34-year-old played 178 games in all competitions for Arsenal. He produced a number of magical moments and some of his antics to annoy Tottenham supporters are still memorable.
However, in a game on New Year’s Eve in 2015, Szczesny’s Arsenal career took a turn for the worse.
After a disappointing defeat against Southampton at the St Mary’s, the Pole was reportedly caught smoking in the shower (Guardian).
Wenger, unsurprisingly, was furious, and he dropped the goalkeeper. Szczesny didn’t play a single game in the Premier League from that point until the end of the season.
In the summer, Wenger sent the goalkeeper out on loan to AS Roma. He spent two seasons there and Wenger then sold him permanently to Juventus in 2017.
Szczesny has now had his say about his exit, and he has revealed that he cried when Arsenal decided to part ways with him.
He told Foot Truck: “I cried when I left Arsenal. It was the end of my dream of playing for this club all my life. If I could write my career over again, I would probably only spend it at Arsenal.
“Now I don’t regret that it happened, because I did well both sportingly and financially. However, it was a very difficult moment for me.”
Arsenal linked with shock move to re-sign Szczesny
It’s very rare that players who leave the club on not-so-good terms return many years later.
Szczesny, despite the circumstances that ended his Arsenal career, remained a fan favourite, and many adore him even to this day.
That’s why Gooners got a bit excited when a report in May claimed that Arsenal were eyeing a shock move to re-sign Szczesny from Juventus.
The Premier League runners-up have a bit of a goalkeeping conundrum right now. Aaron Ramsdale’s future is uncertain, while Karl Hein is expected to go out on loan.
Arsenal are definitely on the market for a new goalkeeper this summer – either to replace Ramsdale or to fill in as the club’s third-choice, or both.
Based on his comments above, one can assume that Szczesny, who has been made available for a transfer at Juventus, would love a fairytale return to the Emirates.
However, sadly, we just can’t see a move happening.
READ MORE: Mikel Arteta now knows exactly how much Arsenal will have to pay to re-sign Wojciech Szczesny
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