Arsene Wenger is wrong to suggest players don’t improve once they leave Arsenal, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil could add their names to the list
SIR ALEX FERGUSON loved to brag that the career of any player who left Manchester United was automatically on a downward trajectory.
When that boast was taken up by Arsene Wenger a couple of years into his Arsenal reign, it was almost impossible to argue with the Frenchman.
But the Gunners boss still maintains that nobody improves after leaving the Emirates despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
“Just look at the performances of the players who left us and then come back to me about it,” Wenger sneered when it was put to him that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain claimed that moving to Liverpool would take his game to the next level.
He was equally dismissive about Kieran Gibbs’ belief that he would become a better defender as a consequence of leaving Arsenal for West Brom.
There was a time when Wenger could afford to be so sniffy about those players who dared choose to work for another coach.
World class stars including Patrick Viera, Emmanuel Petit, Marc Overmars, Robert Pires, David Platt, David Seaman, Gilberto Silva and Andrey Arshavin all struggled to emulate their Arsenal achievements when they left North London.
But Ashley Cole reversed that trend when he forced a move to Chelsea in 2006 to win multiple titles including the Champions League.
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And there has been a steady stream of former Arsenal stars moving on to bigger and better things ever since, including Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy.
Chances are Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil will be adding their names to that list when they run down their Arsenal contracts at the end of the season.
So quite why Wenger still looks down his nose at the likes of Gibbs and the Ox is something of a mystery.
Both players had clearly lost their way at Arsenal and needed a new challenge to revive their stagnating careers.
Neither figured in Wenger’s strongest team and had clearly had enough of hanging around on the subs’ bench.
In the past, Wenger has been dismissive of footballers who do not play regularly but are happy to stay at a club just for the money.
He can’t have it both ways.
And the days of anyone leaving Arsenal and automatically taking a step down are long gone.
