EPL Transfers: 44 Reasons Why Fabregas & Nasri Should Stay At Arsenal

Nasri and Fabregas Two weeks away from the 2011-12 season & we still don't know whether Cesc Fabregas & Samir Nasri will don the Arsenal colors again. Naturally all Arsenal fans worldwide must have their say on whether they should be sold or not & who should replace them.

On one of the chat sites a fan came up with an interesting point. He said that Arsenal players are at their best when they play under Wenger. And he wasn't joking!!!

Call it a jinx or a testament to Arsene Wenger's managerial abilities but barring Ashley Cole, no other Gunner's career has taken off once they've left the club. Below is a list of first team players who have left Arsenal Football Club since the summer of 2004 (supposedly the period after which things started to go downhill for the club).

The list includes 29 players who moved on for various reasons & a further 15 players who were cut out at a young age by Arsene Wenger because they couldn't break into the starting XI.

Player Name	Position	Arsenal Player		Post Arsenal Career
Player Name	Position	Period	Matches	Current Club	Other Clubs
Martin Keown	Defender	1993- 2004	311	Retired in 2005	Leicester City, Reading
Nwankwo Kanu	Forward	1999- 2004	119	Portsmouth	West Bromwich Albion
Sylvain Wiltord	Forward	2000- 2004	104	Nantes	Lyon, Rennes, Marseille, Metz
Ray Parlour	Midfielder	1992- 2004	339	Retired in 2007	Middlesbrough, Hull City
Stuart Taylor	GK	1997- 2005	18	Manchester City	Aston Villa, Cardiff City
Jermaine Pennant	Winger	1999- 2005	12	Stoke City	Birmingham City, Liverpool, Portsmouth, Real Zaragoza
Patrick Vieira	Midfielder	1996- 2005	279	Retired in 2011	Juventus, Inter Milan, Manchester City
Robert Pirès	Winger	2000-2006	189	Free Agent	Villareal, Aston Villa
Sol Campbell	Defender	2001- 2006	135	Free Agent	Portsmouth, Notts County, Arsenal, Newcastle
Pascal Cygan	Defender	2002- 2006	63	Retired in 2011	Villarreal, Cartagena
José Antonio Reyes	Winger	2004- 2007	69	Atlético Madrid	Real Madrid, Benfica
Thierry Henry	Forward	1999- 2007	254	New York Red Bulls	Barcelona
Jérémie Aliadière	Winger	2001- 2007	29	Lorient	Middlesbrough
Fredrik Ljungberg	Winger	1998- 2007	216	Free Agent	West Ham United, Seattle Sounders FC, Chicago Fire
Mart Poom	GK	2006- 2007	1	Retired in 2009	Watford
Lauren Mayer	Defender	2000- 2007	159	Retired in 2010	Portsmouth, Córdoba
Lassana Diarra	Midfielder	2007- 2008	7	Panathinaikos	Portsmouth, Real Madrid
Jens Lehmann	GK	2003- 2008	147	Free Agent	VfB Stuttgart, Arsenal
Mathieu Flamini	Midfielder	2004- 2008	102	AC Milan
Alexander Hleb	Winger	2005- 2008	89	Barcelona	VfB Stuttgart, Birmingham City
Gilberto Silva	Midfielder	2002- 2008	170	Grêmio	Panathinaikos
Justin Hoyte	Defender	2003- 2008	34	Middlesbrough
Emmanuel Adebayor	Forward	2006- 2009	105	Manchester City Reserves	Manchester City, Real Madrid
Kolo Touré	Defender	2002- 2009	226	Manchester City
Fran Mérida	Midfielder	2007- 2010	6	Atlético Madrid
Philippe Senderos	Defender	2003- 2010	64	Fulham
William Gallas	Defender	2006- 2010	101	Tottenham Hotspurs
Mikaël Silvestre	Defender	2008- 2010	26	Werder Bremen
Eduardo da Silva	Forward	2007- 2010	67	Shakhtar Donetsk
Young Gunners
Player Name	Position	Arsenal Player		Post Arsenal Career
Player Name	Position	Period	Matches	Current Club	Other Clubs post Arsenal
David Bentley	Midfielder	2002- 2006	1	Tottenham Hotspurs	Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City
Quincy Owusu Abeyie	Winger	2003- 2006	5	Panathinaikos	Spartak Moscow, Celta Vigo, Birmingham City, Cardiff City, Portsmouth, Al-Sadd, Málaga
Ryan Smith	Winger	2003- 2006	0	On trials with Real Zaragoza	Derby County, Millwall, Southampton, Crystal Palace, Sporting Kansas City
Sebastian Larsson	Winger	2004- 2007	3	Sunderland	Birmingham City
Arturo Lupoli	Forward	2005- 2007	1	Grosseto	Fiorentina, Treviso, Norwich City, Sheffield United, Ascoli
Anthony Stokes	Forward	2005- 2007	0	Celtic	Sunderland, Sheffield United, Crystal Palace, Hibernian
Fabrice Muamba	Midfielder	2005- 2007	0	Bolton Wanderers	Birmingham City
Ryan Garry	Defender	2001- 2007	1	Retired in 2011	Bournemouth
Matthew Connolly	Defender	2006- 2008	0	Queens Park Rangers
Amaury Bischoff	Midfielder	2008- 2009	1	Free Agent	Académica, Aves
Rui Fonte	Forward	2008- 2009	0	Espanyol (loan from Sporting CP)	Sporting CP, Vitória Setúbal, Espanyol B
Paul Rodgers	Defender	2007- 2009	0	Free Agent	Northampton Town
Jay Simpson	Winger	2007- 2010	0	Hull City
Luke Ayling	Defender	2009- 2010	0	Yeovil Town
Håvard Nordtveit	Defender	2007- 2010	0	Borussia Mönchengladbach

None of the players mentioned have so far achieved what they wanted once they left Arsenal Football Club. Sure they made more money, some even won trophies (with their contributions coming from the bench) but they key here is that they never got as much respect or recognition as they had in the Arsenal red & white.

Some players like Hleb have openly admitted that leaving Arsenal was a mistake on their part. That's not to say that Fabregas & Nasri will fail once they leave the club but it is something they should think about before moving on. For every 'Cashley' there's a Reyes, Hleb, Flamini, Henry, Vieira, Pires, Merida & Adebayor!!!