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In recent years, Arsenal have lost their status as a Champions League side and for the first time in 26 years, they are out of European competitions completely. The decline has been steady and not much has been done about it in the last decade. The Arsenal faithful have been cursing the owners for their lack of involvement with the club both financially and sentimentally.
Many crucial players left Arsenal to fulfill their Champions League ambitions
The Champions League eluded Arsenal even in their glory era during the starting years of this century and since then their chances have only slimmed. During 2000s many established and important figures in the Arsenal team left for greener pastures.
Arsenal were losing their core and Arsene Wenger's attempts to put together another strong side only yielded domestic success in multiple FA Cup triumphs. The Champions League dream just kept going farther and farther.
Mikel Arteta is starting to give a new identity to the team and is working at the moment with what is the youngest squad in the Premier League. This new Arsenal will need to draw inspiration from the heroes of the past, but there aren't many figures there who stayed true to the shirt forever.
Some of these greats left the club to fulfill their dream of lifting the Champions League trophy. On that note, we present you with five of the best Arsenal players who decided to leave the club and win the Champions League elsewhere:
#5 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is one of the many names that graduated from Southampton's academy to play for their senior team before being snatched away by a big club. Chamberlain signed for Arsenal in 2011 for a fee that was reportedly around £15 million plus add-ons.
He was an attack-minded midfielder by trait who was sometimes utilized to play out wide as well. After joining Arsenal, he won the FA Cup thrice between 2013 and 2017. Despite his journey with Arsenal giving him plenty of taste of domestic cup success, the road to the Champions League only opened after he made a move to Merseyside.
Arsenal made some much-needed profits when the 'Ox' signed for Liverpool for £35 million. Despite his minimal involvement with Liverpool due to injuries, Chamberlain won the Champions League in 2019. He was on the bench against Tottenham Hotspur in the final of the Champions League. The following season he also won the Premier League with the Reds.
#4 Olivier Giroud
One of the most criminally underrated strikers of the last decade in world football, Olivier Giroud deserves more credit for his time at Arsenal than he usually gets. The Frenchman joined the Gunners in 2012 for a decent €13 million. Since then he has produced many inspirational and unbelievable moments in an Arsenal shirt before moving on.
His trophy cabinet from his time at Arsenal only consisted of FA Cups. Not one, not two, but three of them. Giroud was among the best goalscorers with his head in the Premier League. But despite scoring over 100 goals in an Arsenal shirt in all competitions, Giroud always felt like he could be replaced by the club's next striker.
With Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's arrival, Giroud left for London rivals Chelsea in a €20 million move in 2018. It was the start of winning big for Giroud. The World Cup winner added a fourth FA Cup to his tally in his first year with the Blues.
The following year, he emerged as the top scorer in the Europa League with 11 goals and scored against Arsenal in the final en route to lifting the trophy. The France international fulfilled his dream of winning the Champions League last year under Thomas Tuchel. He scored six goals in eight appearances for Chelsea in their European title run last year.
#3 Serge Gnabry
The wounds are fresh and time and again Arsenal reject Serge Gnabry applies salt to them with his happy pictures of the Champions League trophy. One of the most regretful pieces of business from Arsenal in their history was letting go of Gnabry for cheap.
What was more regretful was that they did not leave any possibility of bringing him back should he become better, no buy-back clause, no right to first refusal either. Gnabry has become one of the most reliable and top performers at Bayern Munich in the last couple of years and is emulating his form for his country as well.
In their 2020 Champions League winning campaign, Gnabry scored a crucial brace in the semi-final to set up a final against Paris Saint-Germain. Gnabry has managed 88 goal involvements for Bayern in 140 appearances and there are no signs of him slowing down.
The Germany winger has been very happy since leaving Arsenal after a demotivating spell. West Bromwich Albion manager Tony Pulis once claimed Gnabry was not up to the level to play for his side. What a joke it turned out to be after the Champions League winner won the most prestigious trophy in Europe.
#2 Ashley Cole
The man who is often considered highly in the debate for the best left-back to play in the Premier League ended his relationship with Arsenal on a sour note. It was in 2006 when an ambitious Ashley Cole realized that Arsene Wenger was failing to retain the core from the "invincible" Arsenal and he left for Chelsea.
Unfortunately, the incident did not sit down well with the Arsenal faithful who baptized him with the name 'Cashley'. The Englishman explained his side of the story but then, in the face of success with his new club, moved on from unnecessary confrontations. In his 228 appearances for Arsenal, Cole won the Premier League twice and the FA Cup thrice.
He played in the Champions League final in 2006, when Arsenal suffered a 2-1 defeat against Barcelona. Perhaps that was the moment when Cole realized this was the most the Arsenal side were capable of.
Since joining Chelsea, the left-back's trophy cabinet needed expansion. He won a Premier League title, one Europa League and one Champions League trophy. In terms of domestic cup success, he also won four FA Cups with Chelsea.
Currently, Cole holds the record for featuring in most FA Cup finals, nine and winning most, seven. He finished his stint with Chelsea after making 338 appearances for the Blues. Cole was also England's first-choice left-back for many years and amassed 107 caps.
#1 Thierry Henry
There hasn't been a much bigger player in Arsenal's history than their very own King of Highbury. From being labeled 'overpriced' when he joined Arsenal from Juventus in 1999 for £11 million to becoming 'priceless', Thierry Henry changed the narrative as he became the club's top goalscorer.
Henry was the most complete striker there was and he could ping passes for fun and through the tightest of gaps. He could finish in front of the goal with the most casual attitude, without any effort, and could glide past defenders with the ball at his feet. It was just pure entertainment. But all of that put together just wouldn't allow him to win the Champions League with Arsenal.
In his eight years with Arsenal, the Frenchman won two Premier League titles and two FA Cups. He came very close in 2006 to winning the Champions League with Arsenal, but was part of the team with Cole that suffered a 2-1 defeat in the final to Barcelona. But fate has its own way of giving you what you deserve.
In 2007, Henry left Arsenal because he wasn't sure whether Arsene Wenger was going to continue at the club. At 29, he was still capable of competing at the highest level and joined Barcelona.
He won La Liga twice under Pep Guardiola's management and finally fulfilled his dream of winning the Champions League in 2009. Henry finished the 2008-09 season with 26 goals and 11 assists in all competitions. The Champions League winner is also France's all-time top scorer with 51 goals.
