Arsenal have always been one of those clubs that have bought and sold intelligently, especially under the guidance of Arsene Wenger, whose prowess in the transfer market is legendary. However, every once in a while, the Frenchman has gotten it massively wrong, letting go of a player when he still could have offered more to the club.
While the balance sheets might have had a rosier look to them, the cost for Arsenal has been a lack of success in all of these cases, with the player in question going on to win trophies at other clubs.
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Here are the top 5 players Arsenal should never have sold
#5 Thierry Henry
It’s not often that the Frenchman is #5 on any list, but Thierry Henry is a rather obvious inclusion. The moment Henry penned an emotional letter in The Sun and posted a teary-eyed video on the Arsenal website announcing his decision to leave for Barcelona is one that is etched in any Arsenal fan's heart.
The best player to have ever played in an Arsenal shirt claimed that the ‘uncertainty’ surrounding Arsene Wenger’s future at Arsenal was why he left. To make it worse, Henry left for a paltry £16 million – a fee that Darren Bent eclipsed when he moved to Tottenham days later. Surely the Gunners could have tempted him to stay – he was a fan of the club and a legend.
The Frenchman then went on to star for Barcelona, racking up the trophies which included La Liga and the UEFA Champions League as he partnered Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto’o. At the same time, a hugely promising Arsenal side was leading the league for much of the season, only to fall away at the end where Henry’s fighting spirit and experience could have been of much use.
It looked like Arsene Wenger learned his lesson later, signing Henry for a dream return in 2012, where a late winner turned out to be crucial as Arsenal narrowly squeaked into the Champions League spots.
#4 Cesc Fabregas
Despite the manner in which he left and despite him now donning the blue shirt of Chelsea, there still remains a twinge of affection for Cesc Fabregas amongst Arsenal fans. For the most barren spell in Arsene Wenger’s years, Cesc Fabregas was the lone star in a sea of mediocrity, dragging the team to 4th spot despite his tender years.
For all the assertion that Fabregas was a Barcelona/La Masia product, the truth is that the Spaniard grew up at Arsenal. Highbury witnessed a boy of 16 control the centre of the park unlike another, and the Emirates fell in love with a player who truly fought for the crest on the front of his shirt.
With perspective, Fabregas might regret making the move – yes, he won the UEFA Champions League and La Liga at Barcelona, but his boyhood club chewed him up and spat him out – he was never loved as much as he was at Arsenal. Arsene Wenger may have rejected the chance to resign Fabregas when he moved to Chelsea, but he surely thought long and hard about bringing back his prodigal son.
#3 Ashley Cole
Ashley Cole was the poster-boy dream for any young football fan – the Arsenal fan who made it through his club’s academy and became a legitimate star featuring in the greatest team of his club’s history. Yet, Cole found it fit to flirt with Chelsea after Arsenal offered him a poor wage increase in contract negotiations.
Ultimately, Ashley Cole left Arsenal with William Gallas moving from Chelsea in a cash plus swap deal. At the time, it was considered a coup for Arsenal, but Gallas proved to be one of the most poisonous captains Arsenal have ever had, overseeing a side that had frequent infighting and collapsed when things became tough.
As for Cole, he racked up the trophies with Chelsea, going from strength to strength as he cemented his status as the best left-back in the league. Had the Gunners kept him, Cole would still have been the best left back in the league, while Arsenal might have also won a trophy or two with him at the Emirates.
#2 Robin van Persie
Robin van Persie has fallen off the footballing radar, not exactly setting the world alight at Fenerbahce, as he winds down a stellar career in a rather tragic manner. The boy with Arsenal shirts all over his room will look back upon his Arsenal career with definite regret, but the Gunners fans won’t be as charitable.
The Dutchman oversaw an acrimonious move, but what will stick with Arsene Wenger is that selling Van Persie to Manchester United effectively handed his rivals and Sir Alex Ferguson the Premier League title, while Arsenal built a side that was fine except for a finisher of Van Persie’s ilk.
Had Robin van Persie stayed at Arsenal, the Gunners would be poorer by £24 million, but richer with a trophy or two for sure. The striker would also not have in all likelihood experienced such a precipitous drop in quality, as Wenger, a manager who moulded him, would have shaped the team around him.
#1 Patrick Vieira
While the sale of all of the other players in this list were truly damaging, they only resulted in the loss of an individual, a supreme player. When Patrick Vieira left Arsenal for Juventus in 2005, the Gunners didn’t just lose a supreme player, a perfect midfielder or a captain – Arsenal lost their identity.
Remember the Invincibles – each member of that squad dwarfed their opponents, in size and ability – half their games were won in the tunnel and Vieira was the embodiment of that. With one signature, Arsene Wenger ensured that his side was never the same again, as those giant invincibles morphed into skillful midgets who collapsed when the going got tough.
Vieira went on to win titles with Inter Milan, proving that there was plenty left in the tank. His last kick in an Arsenal shirt won the Gunners an FA Cup trophy, and that kickstarted a trophy drought that began to torment Arsenal fans right until they beat Hull City in 2014 to lift the FA Cup again.
