£7m defender Arsenal sold says he actually wanted to retire with the Gunners

Add as preferred source on Google

Arsenal had to balance their books quite a lot after the construction of the Emirates Stadium.

Frustratingly, Arsenal had to sell player after player in order to recoup cash in the late 2000s and early 2010s as the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor, Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri were all sacrificed around this time.

Gael Clichy was another who had to leave Arsenal around this period, and speaking on Premier League Productions, the left-back has been discussing his £7m move to Man City all those years ago and how difficult a decision it was to leave the Gunners.

Clichy says that he initially wanted to retire at Arsenal, but, unfortunately, he realised he needed a change.

Clichy wanted to retire at Arsenal

The defender spoke about having to leave the Gunners.

“It was a difficult time because I wanted to finish my career at Arsenal at the time, but at one point you realise you need a change. Going to City the talk was about going for the money, but it was important, I remember speaking to Samir Nasri and saying we need to do it this year to prove we’ve come here to progress,” Clichy said.

Difficult

We have to sympathise a bit here with Clichy.

The player clearly wanted to stay at Arsenal, but staying at a club that, at the time, was lacking ambition would’ve been a bad move to say the least.

Every player who jumped ship at that time was seen as a bit of a turncoat, but the reality was that Arsenal weren’t going anywhere at that point, and their best bets were to leave.

Clichy, ultimately, won plenty of silverware at City, and while it was a tough call at the time, it’s probably a decision he doesn’t regret.