Many Arsenal players who have left the club in the past have wanted to come back.
The Gunners are among the biggest clubs in the world, but different issues over the years have stopped them from winning silverware.
Arsene Wenger suffered for several years at the Emirates because Arsenal couldn’t spend big money to keep their key players at the club.
That led to many leaving and joining their rivals, which was extremely painful for Arsenal fans to see at the time.
But, not everyone got the same kind of love that they did in North London.
What happened when Robin van Persie asked Arsene Wenger to re-sign him at Arsenal
Robin van Persie is a villain to Arsenal fans even to this day.
The Dutchman was once a hero to Gooners and was even the captain of the club. But, in 2012, when he entered the final year of his contract, the striker decided that he wasn’t going to pen a new deal.
Arsenal had no choice but to move him on then, and even though several huge clubs were interested in his services, Manchester United made the best offer.
Wenger picked up the phone and negotiated a deal with the Red Devils to sell him, and Van Persie was ‘world-class‘ at Old Trafford – he helped them win the Premier League.
But, after three years, United wanted to get rid of him, and Van Persie called Wenger and asked him to re-sign him for Arsenal. The legendary Frenchman declined.
In his autobiography ‘Arsene Wenger: My Life in Red and White’, he wrote: “In 2012, he announced his intention not to extend his contract. All the big clubs were courting him. I sold him to Manchester United.
“The supporters were angry with me for this but we could not match the offer. I managed to negotiate his departure for £24 million, which was a huge amount at the time for a player with a year left on his contract. I had only the interest of the club in mind.
“My relationship with Alex Ferguson and Manchester United had improved by then, but every transfer is a polite game of poker where you attempt to give not anything away. Van Persie had a fantastic first six months at Old Trafford: he put the team on track for the Premiership title and made it even more difficult for us.”
“After three years of the four that he signed for, he was injured and Ferguson (note: it was actually Louis van Gaal) sold him to the Turkish club Fenerbahce.
“He called me because he wanted to come back, but it was impossible: he was at the end of his career and we were investing in young players.”
Arsene Wenger declined to re-sign another former player too
Bringing Van Persie back at that stage of his career made no sense at all – Wenger was right to reject the Dutchman’s offer to rejoin the club.
But, the legendary Gunners boss decided against signing another former player, and that was perhaps a mistake.
Arsenal had a clause that allowed them to be the frontrunners to sign Cesc Fabregas when he left Barcelona, and the Spaniard was ready to come back too.
But, Wenger told him that since Mesut Ozil was at the club, there was no place for him (Guardian).
Fabregas joined Chelsea instead and helped them win the Premier League title under Jose Mourinho there.
