Pick Your Poison - Arsenal

The Challenge

Pick 3 players who you believe have left your club and gone on to bigger/better things and you want back at the club. Then make a choice between the 3 players as to which you'd take back in the current squad. Judge all players on the time of their sale, not currently.

Challenger
Frankie Hobbs, 16, London.

Player 1:

Mathieu Flamini
July 2004 - July 2008

"The French workhorse, with the scraggy locks and old fashioned aura, whom went about his business with little fuss, is a player most Arsenal fans would take back in a heartbeat. This man had a work ethic like no other, and would literally leave it all on the pitch. Coupling this with the great versatility Mathieu possessed, and you have a fine player. The type of player trophy winning sides are built around. Sure, he won’t score 15 goals from midfield, but he was simply the perfect foil for the emerging star Cesc Fabregas.

But Arsenal now have Alex Song? Despite this, I still think that Mathieu was a big loss. Simply for the fact it was so avoidable. Arsene Wenger made a mistake by not showing any sort of care for his future and didn’t really have any significant plans for Mathieu. He left for Milan on a free later that summer."

Flamini was certainly the perfect central midfield partner for Cesc Fabregas during his time at Arsenal and the fact he was allowed to leave by Arsene Wenger on a free transfer tells me it was a case of "you don't know what you've got till it's gone". Personally I feel they've only just properly replaced him with the emergence of youngsters Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey, as players who can do the business offensively and defensively. 

He's struggled to make a massive impact in Milan since his move, with injuries and rotation but I'm sure had he stayed at Arsenal he would have been a key fixture and would have been successful at the North London club.

Player 2
Patrick Vieira
September 1996 - July 2005

"Vieira was simply a machine. He had everything to his game - pace, power, leadership, aggression, height, and even popped up with important goals. The fact Arsenal haven’t won a trophy since his departure, simply shows how much of a key asset he was. I’m not saying that we would have won a trophy if we had kept Patrick, but it would have given us a much better chance in doing so! 

The fact we even considered the offer is what seemed to force out Patrick, and a clear rejection to Juventus would have shown to Patrick Vieira that he was wanted at Highbury (later the Emirates), so this was again, an avoidable transfer, and yet again, we seemed to mess this up."

As has been said, this man was a monster. A true machine he had everything in his game and was the glue that held the Arsenal side together through their most successful period. He was their lynchpin in defence and sometimes offered that spark in attack that led to goals. Went on to Juve and won the league (before they were demoted) and then went on to Inter and Manchester City before retiring this summer. A true icon in his time, it's no surprise Arsenal haven't had a leader like him since his departure.

Player 3
Cesc Fabregas
September 2003 - August 2011

"Cesc Fabregas, a player whom was brought through the ranks from the early teen years, to becoming captain of the First Team, is a world class performer. He epitomized Arsenal. He was the heartbeat of Arsenal. At the age of 23, younger players looked up to him, as ‘the man’ of Arsenal.

Many Arsenal fans were open to the fact that Cesc would be leaving to go ‘home’, yet for the fee to be so low for a player of his world class ability frustrated a lot of us.

Despite this, it’s frustrating the player has so much power. Why couldn’t Arsenal just shut up shop and not let him go? The fact Arsenal didn’t exactly squeeze Barcelona dry for our captain and best player is the reason he makes it into the list."

 Possibly the best Arsenal player of his generation, he was the focal point of all of Arsenal's supreme football in the Premier League and Europe. His move to Barcelona this summer was much expected, but nobody realised the huge effect it would have on the Arsenal side now. Replaced by Mikel Arteta, it's noticeable how much Arsenal miss their Catalan superstar. His vision was amazing and was capable of spotting most things others couldn't dream of, but he had the ability to make it happen too. A truly world-class player.

Conclusion

FRANKIE HOBBS

"We saw in the summer, that clubs do not have to sell their best players (Modric to Chelsea) yet it feels like every time an Arsenal player is wanted, he will eventually go. Here’s to hoping that Robin Van Persie isn’t the next one to go, and that if I was to do this again in 5 years, Robin will not be on this list.As for who I would like most in our current team, I would have to go with Cesc Fabregas. The man was the focal point of everything good with Arsenal. He created chance after chance, and after all, he was just coming into the peak years of his career, and he was a player the fans loved. He fitted our tactic perfectly, as it was built around him, and as you can see, Arsenal are not the same without him. It is without doubt that Cesc will always remain in Arsenal fans’ hearts, but had he stayed, he would have simply gone down as a legend of the club. It’s a shame that his move to Barcelona had to happen so early in his career, but since it has, I wish him all the luck in the world, and hope we can see him back at the Emirates one day."

DMF

Looking at the team right now, they're clearly missing a playmaker capable of spotting a pass and playing it but also being able to produce that moment of magic  to score themselves. They've got a midfield enforcer in Alex Song and the link man between defence and attack in Jack Wilshere. However, although they've got Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta as playmakers - neither are on Cesc's level and it's showing in their league performances this season. So for that reason, if I were an Arsenal fan I'd want Fabregas back in a heartbeat.

 

Do you agree with the choices @FrankieH_ made? Let us know in the comments  section or on Twitter.

DMF. (@dmf180593)