Patrick Vieira – 1996-2005 Now an ambassador for
Manchester City
Emmanuel Adebayor – 2006-2009 Two months after
leaving Arsenal he ran the length of the pitch to
celebrate a goal he scored against them in front of his
former fans. He now plays for hated rivals Tottenham
Hotspur.
Jose Antonio Reyes – 2004-2006 Reyes was fooled by a
radio prank and admitted he wanted to leave Arsenal
just a year after joining the club. He said: “I wish I was
playing for Real Madrid. Hopefully it could happen. I’m
not happy with the way things are. If I’m not playing for
Real I’m going to have to carry on playing with some
bad people.” Five months later he signed a six year
deal but the following season refused to play in a
Champions League game for fear he would be cup-tied
and prevented from joining Real Madrid. He was loaned
to the Spanish club a month later before joining their
rivals, Atlético Madrid, the following year.
Thierry Henry – 1999-2007 “At one point it crossed my
mind to leave,” he said in the summer of 2006. “But I
think with my heart and my heart told me to stay. I’ve
never played in Spain and never will. This is my last
contract.” The following summer he was parading
around the Nou Camp in a Barcelona shirt. “It has been
a long chase but I’m finally here and happy to be here
and I can’t wait to go out there and show what I can
do,” he said. “It is incredible. I am looking forward to
playing in the Camp Nou and helping the team in every
way I can. Barcelona are a wonderful club steeped in
tradition and play beautiful football. I’m sure I will be
very happy here.” Arsenal recently unveiled a statue of
Henry outside the Emirates and he then joined them on
loan from NY Red Bulls, scoring 3 goals in 7 games.
Samir Nasri – 2008-2011 Two months after signing a
contract extension with Marseille, Nasri signed for
Arsenal. He was seen kissing Arsenal’s badge after
scoring goals against Tottenham Hotspur and
dismissed rumours linking him away from the club.
“There is not much to say apart from don’t listen to all
the rumours and everything that is written or said,” he
said in June 2011. “In terms of talent, I feel we had the
best squad of the whole league. We played the best
football. We were the best team, even if Manchester
United had a good season too. We have improved so
much. If the boss adds some good players, I really
believe a trophy will be won.” Two months later he
signed for Manchester City. He said: “It is a big relief. It
was a long negotiation and discussion between the two
clubs and now I am finally a City player. That is what I
wanted from the start. I’m really happy. I was a little bit
frustrated because I said to the manager I wanted to
leave. I stayed for the whole pre-season, but I wanted
to do the pre-season with Manchester City.”
Cesc Fabregas – 2003-2011 “Why would I want to
leave?” he asked in January 2011. “It is fantastic here.
It would be a dream to lift trophies for Arsenal. It has
always been my wish. Afterwards you can always be
attracted by something else, like a new objective, or
new challenges because, for me, life is all about
challenges. But my real challenge as captain of Arsenal
is to bring this football club success.” After captaining
the club for three years and winning just the one
trophy in 2005, Fabregas left Arsenal for the club he
really loved, Barcelona.
Sol Campbell – 2001-2006 Featured in full on Kissed
The Badge.
Ashley Cole – 1997-2006 After coming through the
ranks at Arsenal, Cole talked to Chelsea about a move
behind his club’s back. Cole and Chelsea were later
charged and fined for breaking Premier League rules on
tapping up after the move was finalised. In 2009, Cole
showed there was no love lost, speaking about
Manchester City: “I don’t know about breaking into the
top four, that’s hard to say. I hope they do it. I hope
they do really well – and that they finish above
Arsenal.”
Robin van Persie – 2004-? After being made captain,
van Persie lasted just one season before revealing he
had no intention of signing a new contract, putting
pressure on the club to sell him this summer to ensure
he won’t leave on a free next year. Earlier in the
season, he claimed that he was committed to the club:
“I had seen loads of comments about a story like that, I
thought after one or two days it would go away, but it
didn’t so I felt it was time to explain things and I did
that. I’m committed. This is my eighth year. If you can
say of one player that he’s committed, it’s me.”