As the Invincibles squad of 2004 pretty much disintegrated by the time Arsenal had started to settle into their new home, it was time for the next crop of players to show what they had to offer. Now playing with Fly Emirates on our shirts rather than O2 it was clear to see the financial strain of the stadium took its toll through the stature of player that would be brought into the club. But was this such a bad thing?
In this time we saw highly gifted players come through the door but was it just a case of ‘right player at the wrong time’? As we saw in the later years of paying off the stadium debt, 2011 and 2012 most evidently, we struggled to keep players as they began to mature beyond being prospects in search for trophies as they grew older. However, if kept at the club I believe that with the ones that got away the Arsenal team could’ve been something special and maybe could’ve put the squeeze on the title challenge a few more times.
I know this player left a couple of years before the rest but he’s still someone who could’ve elevated the club had he not gone to Barcelona. No, it’s not Thierry Henry or Thomas Vermaelen, it’s Alex Hleb. With 4-4-2 being the popular formation at the time he was used mostly on the wings during his time at Arsenal he didn’t score too many goals but was a very effective player in Arsenal’s attacks.
Drifting off his wings with a combination of having the ability to carry the ball well as well as having an eye for a pass Hleb’s style of play was definitely beneficial to Arsenal as he was the source of many team goals. But sadly after 3 seasons in North London we couldn’t tempt him to stay as he moved to Barcelona in what, looking back now, proved to be one of the Belarussian’s less intelligent decisions as his career took a significant drop after that, seeing him appear for Birmingham City, nowadays he’s playing in Russia for Krylia Sovetov Samara.
The next player signed for Arsenal as a teenager from Bastia, firstly on loan and then permanently. Central midfielder Alex Song definitely grew into the team cementing his place in the 2010/11 season, a season which saw him, Cesc Fabregas, Jack Wilshere and Samir Nasri have outstanding seasons.
In his later years at Arsenal it wasn’t just his defensive work that Song was being recognised for and no I’m not talking about his adventurous hairstyles either. Playing in front of the defence Song was similar to Xhaka in some ways, most clearly the pair’s ability to play long dangerous passes. After getting on the scoresheet 5 times in 2010/11, including goals in wins against Manchester City and Chelsea, Song became known more for the types of assists he was giving out, most notably to Robin van Persie against Liverpool and Everton but like the Dutchman, just as he seemed to reaching the peak of his powers the Cameroonian, like Hleb 4 years prior, left for Barcelona which also had a negative impact on his career seeing him move to West Ham before signing for Rubin Kazan last summer.
The last player I’d like to look at left a year before Song but didn’t move as far as Sunny Spain. It’s Samir Nasri who moved north to gloomy Manchester. Like so many in that 2010/11 squad Nasri experienced his best season in an Arsenal that year. After a forgettable World Cup with France the previous summer Arsenal’s number 8 returned in inspired form winning the French Player of the year award in 2010, Premier League Player of the Month in December 2010 and getting in that season’s PFA team of the year along with Bacary Sagna and Jack Wilshere.
Over his three years in North London the Frenchman improved year on year scoring 27 times and assisting on 13 occasions. Unlike the other two Nasri’s career was arguably elevated by his move to City as he won 2 league titles and a league cup, being one of the most influential players in the squad making 94 key passes scoring 12 goals and assisting 7 times, including clutch moments in the League Cup Final against Sunderland, a final day screamer to win the title as well as a derby day hammer blow against Manchester United.
But one can only imagine what the squad could’ve been if they stayed for just a few more years, maybe the trophy drought wouldn’t have been so long!
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