Can Alexander Hleb Bring the Magic Back to Barcelona?

At long last, the deal is done.

After months of rumour, conjecture, and hearsay, the high-profile move from England to Spain has been finalised.

Unfortunately, the tedious Ronaldo-Man Utd-Real Madrid saga is still rolling on, but the player known in his mother tongue as Aliaksandr Hleb completed his move to from Arsenal to Barcelona on July 16. With the Catalan club in crisis, what can Hleb do to help restore glory to the Blaugrana, after two trophy-less seasons?

The Belarusian first came to the attention of football community while playing for VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga. Signed as a teenager, Hleb spent five years in Germany, where his dazzling displays earned him the nickname Zauberlehrling—'magician' in English.

Playing as an attacking midfielder, Hleb's main contribution was his ability to set up goals for others. In 2004-05, his final season at Stuttgart, Hleb ended with the most assists in the Bundesliga. His performances caught the eye of one Arsene Wenger, leading to a €15 million move to Arsenal in the summer of 2005.

By the time he arrived at Highbury—though little known in England—his reputation back home was sky high, having won the Belarusian Footballer of the Year three times, and being considered his country's best player—ever.

His next task was to prove himself capable in the faster, more physically trying English Premiership.

Hleb did not have the most auspicious start to his Arsenal career, falling victim to injuries and struggling to consistently hold down a first team place. However, by the season's end he showed promise, being integral to the Champions League campaign and starting in the final.

Hleb finished with 40 first team showings and the occasional flashes of brilliance delighting Gooners—if concerning them with his tendency to exhibit the Arsenal bad habit of 'overplaying.'

The next season started very promisingly for Hleb, scoring three times early on. However, as in his maiden year at Arsenal, the goals dried up after a successful start. Hleb did however continue to enhance his reputation as a playmaker—playing mostly on the right wing during his first two seasons, Hleb's deft touches became a staple component of Arsenal's exquisite passing game.

In what was to be his last year at Arsenal, Hleb was moved from the wings to a position he seemingly favoured 'in the hole' behind the main striker. The Belarusian appeared to be much more comfortable there, playing with more freedom than he had on the wing—even in a Wenger system in which wingers have license to roam and cut inside.

Hleb once again started with goals in Champions League qualifiers and the first Premiership match, and once again could not sustain his scoring throughout the year—his final total of five being far short of his preseason hope of ten goals in the season.

Hleb is a player who divided Arsenal fans like few others—almost all being reviled by the manoeuvring of he and his agent—but opinions on his performances for the Gunners being very split. Some were delighted by Hleb's skill on the ball and eye for a pass, holding him in very high regard—as shown in the picture accompanying this article.

Others—this writer included—were disappointed in his continual failure to deliver goals. Though the more forgiving Gooner would claim that Hleb's assists compensated for his shot-shy nature, this view is not easily justified by facts.

In the 2007-08 Premier League season, Hleb took only 15 shots—a shocking rate of fewer than one shot every two games. Opta statistics also show that in his 89 Premiership appearances, Hleb actually only made 10 assists, suggesting that his reputation for setting up Arsenal goals was larger than his actual contribution.

Perhaps most telling of all though, are the following statistics from Opta. In his final season—which was also Hleb's most productive—Arsenal scored fewer league goals (1.7) with Hleb in the team, than when Hleb was absent (1.86). Also, Arsenal's league win percentage was lower when playing Hleb (54 percent) than without him (60 percent).

With a grand total of 11 goals in his three seasons in London, and 10 assists to his name in the Premiership, a huge challenge awaits Hleb at Barcelona.

He joins a club which is thirsting desperately for success—a thirst which Hleb himself has declared that he shares. This club in transition will be expecting big things from its new acquisitions—a third year in a row without silverware would surely cause turmoil far surpassing that experienced this year.

With Deco and Ronaldinho gone, Hleb has big boots to fill. If he wishes to do so, and become a Barca hero, Belarus' favourite son will have to show much more than he did in North London.