I try to hold myself above being angry at footballers who leave my team, and usually I succeed.
When Thierry Henry left Arsenal, even after he said he would be a Gunner for life, I quickly forgave him and moved on. When Freddie Ljungberg left for West Ham I was annoyed and a little amused by his claim that he was going to West Ham for “a chance at hardware,” but in my heart I wished him well for his loyal service and for that great red Mohawk.
Hell, I'm even forgiving of Mathieu Flamini (of whom I may be the only fan in the world) and feel that Arsenal is to blame for his departure, not the man himself.
Admittedly, I was less successful controlling myself when Sol Campbell went mental and Ashley Cole Adebayored his way into Stamford Bridge, but I always managed to keep my anger to a minimum.
I can’t be so kind when it comes to Alexander Hleb.
The man needs to shut up, and for the second time (sorry Cashley) I do not wish an ex-Gunner well in his chosen move.
Hleb is just not that good. He is not Ljungberg, he is not Pires, and though I am sure he aspires to be as good as these great Gunners it was never going to happen.
Therefore, how can Hleb possibly imagine himself to be too big for Arsenal?
Undoubtedly, his idiot agent has something to do with that. Perhaps, also, it has to do with the fact that he is the finest player for his national team. Which team is that again? Oh yeah, Belarus!
My 4-year-old son (hey... he has scored 14 goals in seven games) would probably rank second on the Belarussian team, just behind Hleb, so that's not much of an accomplishment.
The truth is that Hleb is only slightly above average.
He had two awful seasons with Arsenal, and one passable one. Yes, he is great with the ball at his feet, but he often makes poor choices when passing. He is petulant and dangerous when he tackles, and he was saved more than once last season when he was dispossessed by Flamini and Fabregas. He never shoots the ball, and when he does it is almost always weak or off-target.
And this is the man who feels he is too good for Arsenal and can then speak intelligently about what is wrong with the North London club.
He’s already off in Barcelona trying to unsettle Fabregas and Adebayor (as if the Togolese ego needs any more unsettling), and then he compounds his already aggravating behavior by being quoted in the Daily Telegraph as saying, “When he [Wenger] leaves, I think this is a difficult time coming for Arsenal.”
So now he is not only unsettling current Arsenal players but, potentially, future Arsenal signings.
It’s a shabby display, and it shows very little knowledge of a side he has been a part of for three years.
No team who loses a manager of Wenger’s caliber will be absolutely okay when that manager leaves (both Arsenal and Man Utd fans have to be at least a little afraid with life after their leaders), but from the very beginning Wenger has been preparing Arsenal for his absence.
It is not just Wenger alone who finds the talent hiding in France, Belgium, Mexico, and wherever else, it is a huge scouting system that now runs almost on its own.
Wenger has implemented fitness and health regimes that will not disappear when he leaves, and the Emirates Stadium will make it easier and easier, year after year, for future managers to plug the gaps with experienced players.
The future isn’t just bright under Wenger, Arsenal’s future is bright period.
But then how can I expect the man who once claimed the hustle and bustle of London was too much for him, only to want away to Barcelona, to have any logic when it comes to the team he has left behind and is now trying to mess with even after getting what he wanted? I can’t. And I don’t.
But I'll tell you what I will do.
I will watch Barcelona religiously this season looking for one beautiful bit of comeuppance that is sure to arrive numerous times a game: Monsieur Henry glowering at Hleb after an errant pass.
It was the image that encapsulated Hleb’s two crappy seasons at Arsenal, and it is sure to be a regular addition to match day at Camp Nou. It was also obvious how much Hleb hated it, so seeing it every week will give my Hleb-hate a pleasant jolt of weekly vengeance.
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28 days ago
Well said mate. Great you are sticking up for your club.
I must also say, I agree with you but Flamini is just as abnormally sized headed, just quieter.
from 27 days ago
Flamini is definitely quieter, but I also think he has the slightly better claim to his big head than Hleb. he stuck with Arsenal for a lot longer, played out of position for extended periods when it was required and didn't complain (although he did refuse to take over left back as a permanent position because he wanted back in his midfield role), and he was the single most influential player on Arsenal last season with the exception of Fabregas.
28 days ago
Be glad you got good money for him let him say his piece and it will pas...
from 27 days ago
I am, I guess I have to, and it will. It's just great to have a chance to say my piece.
from 27 days ago
He is our problem now you got rid your lucky...
from 27 days ago
Haha. Indeed. Sorry for that Alby.
28 days ago
He was better off at Arsenal than Barcelona in my opinion. Who knows though.
28 days ago
His behaivour has angered me... I want him to be bullied into passing to the big names at Barca. I just hope even Bojan gets 2 have a go at him, NOW THAT will be funny...
28 days ago
hleb was a winjing from the moment he came to arsenal first he missed germany then it was the weater was too cold and last was he was too good for arsenal and he wanted to leave. But what realy gets me pissed off is when he starts saying people like fabregas and adebayor are going to leave arsenal and join barcalona.
Mark my words hleb will do absalutly nothing in spain and will be a big failyer for barcalona. the only reason he did well at arsenal was because people dont come out and say we are a big team so when we play we always try are hardist to prove it. but with barcalona they all think they are the biggist and best and have all the media attention and get raited the best players in the world.... Hleb is not even in the top 50 players in the world so he willstand out like saw thumb give him two seasons max.
remember when you leave arsenal your career is never as good!!!
28 days ago
I'm just kind of shocked that Barcelona picked him up in the first place. He's been kind of a non-entity the last couple years and it seems like he almost peaked this season. He'll get some good displays in at Barca, but in the end I feel like at most he's just going to be a bit player at the club. Barcelona is just one of those teams I love to watch, and I hope this move wasn't a waste of time.
27 days ago
Henry, Bjon, ETO'O( if he stays and a big if)), Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Keita (The new lad who is fantastic) if he can even get a sub's role for two consecutive games then he is lucy...
27 days ago
its always the same, he was a shit player anyway...blah blah blah.... but if he was still there oh what a different story it would be.
from 27 days ago
I didn't mean to say he was a shit player, illya. He is an above average player, as I said, and that is very far from being shit. But I think my assessment of his three season at Arsenal is fair. He seriously underachieved in his first two season, and really only delivered what was expected from him last season, not doing anything to be better than good. He certainly didn't excel.
27 days ago
Biggest bullshit I've read in a long time. He was a quality player, and your comments stink of petulant, bitter behaviour.
from 27 days ago
Yep. Admittedly petulant and bitter. I've got no problem with that. It is, after all, my prerogative as a fan.
27 days ago
Can you tell how sorry I am to see Flamini go?
26 days ago
lol
24 days ago
as much as i love your writing, this particular viewpoint is abit of a nonsense, and i'm sorry i gotta agree with rahul.
hleb is pure player. purists dont even think about scoring and all that. they first and foremost think of setting up on a plate someone else to score. hleb interweaves play, i am actually abit appalled at your talk. are your blind? did you not see manchester utd v arsenal where we owned old trafford, where we provided the joyous football, where we, and not fergie's men, proivded the dreams? on that particular day, hleb was god. against milan hleb was fantastic, against madrid, blah blah.
he is crap in terms of goals n yes sloppy passes. henry's scowls are usually correct, as hleb was just average in the first two seasons.
furthermore, if you are really an arsenal fan, you would have notice the telepathic football between hleb cesc and rosicky. those three could play blindfolded n have such synchronising football. these kinds of players are rare. the messi kind, the ones that slither their way on the pitch, not the cristiano ronaldo-like of rigid running.
hleb is fluid. i am going to miss him alot but as a man who loves watching barcelona, i cannot wait to see him grace nou camp and see the combination plays between him messi and henry, that is if hleb doesn't messes up his passes to the scowler lol.
from 24 days ago
Thats very true.I don't follow arsenal too closeley but like you say last year at old trafford hleb was the stand out player by a mile.
from 23 days ago
Okay, Mulatto, maybe I go a bit far in my criticism of him when I say "Hleb is just not that good. He is not Ljungberg, he is not Pires, and though I am sure he aspires to be as good as these great Gunners it was never going to happen." At least the part about him never being as good as Pires or Ljungberg in their pomp might be going too far. He had amazing moments. Moments where I too stood up and cheered. So I can't take that away from him.
But right there is what pisses me off, and should piss off every other "real Arsenal fan." He was just starting to become an excellent player, a player who could do it for a whole season rather than for a game here and there (which is what he did last year, granted with more consistency than the years before). But now he buggers off before he really shows the goods. Where are the Vieiras and Henrys and Bergkamps who hit their prime and stayed at Arsenal so we could win trophies? What do we have now? Cesc (maybe Toure too) is the only one playing at a true world-beating level who has shown any loyalty. Neither Hleb nor Adebayor is anywhere near as good and they simply used Arsenal to parley themselves into a "better job" somewhere else. Why shouldn't I be bitter? Damn right I should, and so should all other Arsenal fans.
If some of other cusp players show some loyalty and help Arsenal grow rather than just use us and abuse us then I won't be so bitter. Until then, I will simply enjoy Henry's glowers.
23 days ago
hmmm... perhaps someone's hurt cos a 'loved one' has left? i am.
we are unanimous in the part that we are angry he has departed and left a hole in our team. and yes in some ways he has 'abused' us. i honestly believe he would've become a legend and one of the best players in the world. he was just flourishing superbly into the wenger mould and he has to jump ship. hleb is at a stage where he wil be in his prime. had he stayed, next season he could've been in contention for player of the year.
now barca will reap the rewards esp in a non-contact league like spain's, hleb will shine in harmony with iniesta and co. or perhaps decline as players who leave arsenal usually do, we'l see.
i agree he has been abit of an asshole but his departure led us to purchase nasri. hleb could be doing us a favour as nasri is another joyful player to watch and he does score. blessing in disguise?
either way i say thanks to aliaksandr for his contribution to arsenal especially in the champions league. how i'l miss his dinking runs.
from 23 days ago
fair enough.
23 days ago
nasri is almost a dead cert to be the next pires/ljungberg in terms of our winger that scores. hleb could never do that, just the magician that floats around yet cannot score lol.
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