Arsene Tells Former Players: “Once You Leave, You’re Gone”

By: Laurie | January 15th, 2008

If former bad boy Nicolas Anelka makes a huge impact at Chelsea, allowing them to overtake Arsenal in one or more competitions this year, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger may be kicking himself. And changing his policies.

Arsenal fans with long memories will recall that Anelka left the club for Real Madrid back in 1999 amid much acrimony and hard feelings. (But for a huge transfer fee.) He played only nineteen games at Madrid, then bounced around to multiple clubs before landing at Bolton. While at Bolton he was linked several times to Arsenal in the rumor mill, but in the end Arsene didn’t allow it happen.

“I believe he acknowledges that he made a mistake when he left [in 1999] - he was playing regularly for the national team,” said Wenger. “He left, Thierry Henry came in and he [Henry] played in the European Championships.

“Most of the time he was not in a club with the quality that he had. He got disappointed. He has so much class. I considered him because he wanted to put things right. I thought ‘Is it right to get a player back who has left?’ We have kept a straight policy - if he has left, we accept it.”

If he has left, we accept it. In other words, there’s no such thing as a second chance for former Arsenal players.

Bad news for Thierry Henry, who has been struggling a bit at Barcelona, and who has recently been making kissy noises at Arsenal that could be interpreted as homesickness.

“It does not matter what will happen with my new team, I’ll never find the affection I was shown at Arsenal,” the Henry told Sky television (www.skylife.it). “In part that’s because I don’t think my legs will let me play for another club for eight years. You always return to the place you belong to and so I hope one day to be able to work with that club. I have this club in my blood.”

In his blood, maybe. But it probably won’t be contributing to his bank account again.

In general, this is not a bad policy. It discourages club-hopping and makes players think twice before they leave.

But if Anelka starts to deliver goals for Chelsea that he could have delivered for Arsenal, Arsene might realize that every rule deserves the occasional exception.