Looking Back: Three Players Arsenal Regret Selling

Over the last 25 years, Arsenal have had some of the best players in their ranks, signed by legendary manager Arsene Wenger. Wenger was known to be a shrewd dealer in the transfer market, picking up players for a cheap fee and groomed them to become world-class players.

But, the Frenchman was also known to not pay over the odds, especially with respect to wages, which angered many players, leading to their departure. While there were other players who left the club to win silverware elsewhere.

Here, let’s take a look at 3 players Arsenal regret selling:

Thierry Henry

The all-time top scorer for the Gunners, Thierry Henry tormented defences in England for 8 seasons, ending his Arsenal career with 228 goals – the most by any Arsenal player. The Frenchman was a part of The Invincibles and won two Premier League and two FA Cup trophies with the North London, while also captaining the side.

Henry left the Gunners in 2007, moving to Barcelona for a fee of €24 million. The Frenchman said that he never thought of leaving the club, but was unsure about the future of manager Arsene Wenger, which was one of the main reasons for his departure. His sale was a big blow for Arsenal as they not only lost a proven goalscorer, but also a leader and one of the last players from that iconic Invincibles team.

Robin van Persie

Perhaps one of Wenger’s biggest mistakes as Arsenal manager was to sell Robin van Persie. The Dutchman, who took over the mantle of the team’s talisman after the sale of Henry, was in scintillating form for the Gunners in his last two seasons at the club, scoring 59 goals in two seasons.

But, when then Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson came calling, Wenger decided to allow van Persie to leave. Selling a player to their arch-rivals is not a good move to keep fans happy, even more so when it is the team’s best player. The Dutch striker went on to score 30 goals in his first season at Old Trafford, where he went on to win his first Premier League title in what was Ferguson’s last season at the club.

Serge Gnabry

Onto a more recent transfer blunder that Wenger made. The French manager was known to give his young players opportunities, with the likes of Cesc Fabregas playing for the first team at a young age. But, Wenger did not adopt that policy for highly-rated attacker Serge Gnabry.

The German left the club in 2016 after being unhappy at a lack of first-team opportunities. He joined Werder Bremen for just £5 million, and after impressing for them, joined Bayern Munich for just €8 million. The 24-year-old has come into his own this season, scoring 18 goals and making 11 assists in 33 games in all competitions, living up to his potential.