Did the so-called Arsenal Traitors actually do the right thing for their careers?

Arsenal fans will tell you that over the past decade we have seen numerous players switch the Emirates for pastures new, perhaps a few of which have been a little closer to home than a lot of fans would’ve liked. But should we really consider them to be ‘snakes’, as they are often referred, when in reality, most have gone on to win some of the biggest trophies in European football.

Arsenal could probably make an entire starting eleven of players who have ‘turned their back on Arsenal’ to go join one of our rivals. Van Persie’s move to United may arguably be one of the biggest, whilst Ashley Cole caused quite a stir back in 2006. Fabregas also arguably hurt the Gunners twice in consecutive moves to Barcelona and then Chelsea. This is not to forget the rather attractive prospect that players see at Manchester City, with the likes of Adebayor, Clichy, Toure, Sagna and Nasri all leaving the Gunners for a move up north.

Many will argue that finances played a large part in the moves and that players are motivated by money. For Ashley Cole’s move to Chelsea (which was solely based upon his contractual demands) and some of the stars that went to City, I have no doubt that money played its part. But I think they also recognised that their chances of success with Arsenal weren’t looking any brighter and that a move to another club may be the breath of fresh air that they need.

Over the past decade Arsenal have dramatically fallen in terms of success, there’s no denying it. From the unbeatables, to what currently seems as the ‘un-winn-ables’, we’ve seen plenty of players line up under Arsene Wenger, many of which have no silverware to their name as a result of their Arsenal career. For the players that do, it’s one or two FA Cup’s, which albeit is still a good achievement, it is not the pinnacle of football that all players will desire.

Ashley Cole was recently asked about whether he regretted leaving the Gunners, and the Englishman said: “No. I had a great time there, I missed the old players that were there but I moved on and won every trophy I could. I wouldn’t look back and say I regretted it, no.”

I’m sure that I’m going to get a few disagreeing in the comments section, but would it be unreasonable to suggest that perhaps the likes of RVP, Fabregas, and the City men mostly, in hindsight, made the correct decision to leave Arsenal for a rival. Admittedly they could’ve departed in a more respectful fashion and perhaps not chosen a club with a rivalry to the Arsenal heart; however do players really have the loyalty to Arsenal that us fans do? Of course not, they may be fans of the club because they play for the Gunners, but they don’t necessarily have the same passions and desires for the Red and White as we do. Therefore when a better job offer comes along elsewhere, with increased changes of success and with it and increased wage, realistically with no loyalties to the club, I don’t think they really care too much about whether the fans aren’t going to be happy. The players have a desire to win the biggest, most lucrative trophies in football, not stay at the same club for their entire career, trying to win things under a manager that can only claim that there is ambition.

You only get one shot at a professional career and although you’re likely to upset thousands of fans at the time, in 10-20 years time, looking back on the fact that they achieved the biggest rewards of playing the game professional, do you really think we can still blame them for seeking that desire elsewhere?

By AH

10 Comments

  1. Wenger sold Cole for 5mil + Gallas because Cole wanted 5k quid a week more.
    Wenger sold Van Persie, the top PL goal scorer to Man U, and they one the league.
    Wenger had a buy back clause on Fabregas, he didn’t activate it, Fabregas goes to Chelsea and wins the league.
    Wenger wouldn’t give Gilberto anything more than a year contract because he was in his 30’s. He played international football for another 4 years.
    These are just a few examples of Wengers terrible decisions in the last 10 years and he is getting worse. I don’t blame any player for wanting to leave Arsenal whilst Wenger is in charge.

    1. Cole forced the move through, Dein was dealing with the contract and Cole confirmed this in his book.
      Wenger wanted to lose RvP for nothing 12 months later than sell him. He was sold for CL money.
      Same thing for Nasri, Wenger said he wouldn’t sell both Cesc and Nasri in the same window but Arsenal did, Nasri confirmed it was the board that sold him while Wenger wanted him to stay.
      Wenger appeared to want Cesc but Wenger was convinced Cesc had made his choice before we got to speak to him, he turned Arsenal down.

  2. Lol…Arsenal is a starter wife for quality players and a haven for mediocre ones. Just ask Ramsey and Walcott..hell throw in Mertesacker and Gibbs into the mix..you will find none of them wants to leave.

      1. Not really, who would buy him and pay the wages we are?
        Not being offered a new contract is the best news we have about him, I honestly do not think we could sell him for a broken spanner… Shame as he shown some real nice potential at 1st but just didn’t appear to take it serious enough.

  3. I would have done the same thing tbh.
    there is only one person to blame for this.And he’s sitting on his 8m a year quid.Which is a hundred times more than some of us could ever get in 3 lifetimes.He is the one the only specialist in failure and master of delusion

  4. It’s not just about loyalty, it’s about being a decent person and doing the right thing by the people and supporters who helped mold you into the player you are. Saying this is right is akin to saying Adebayor had every right to act in the manner he did. Same difference really only Adebayor didn’t try condescending the fans.

    1. But when someone is loyal then the fans turn on them when things don’t go well.
      Wenger?
      Ozil?
      I do wonder who will be next…

  5. Ive felt bitter about all of the big names that have left but they have all gone on and won medals for winning major competitions the first year of signing for there new club.That really says it all.

  6. I think they did.
    Arsenal stopped showing footballing ambition when it lost the only supporter it had as a share holder, after that sole supporter sold his shares to try and force a change… we became a financial focused business.

    I don’t care how good a manager is, they will always have a major handicap when the board is more focused on profit than winning, we should look to invest what we earn but that hasn’t been the case since Dein fell out with the board and eventually left due to the difference in opinions.

    When the people in charge are focused on profit then players who want to win at the sport… They can not be blamed for looking at clubs that want to win at the sport.

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