Alexander Hleb is very clear about it: he should have stayed at Arsenal and not signed for Barcelona. The Belarusian has openly acknowledged him on the Gunner podcast “In Lockdown”, where he gave an interview talking about the decision to accept the offer from the Catalan team: “Many years later I still think about it. I do not get it. To this day I still do not understand what happened or why I made that decision. Of course, at that time Barcelona were the best team in the world but I was very happy at Arsenal. He had friends, he enjoyed the coach, he played for a great team, the fans, the stadium … everything! I don't understand why I left. I was 100% happy at Arsenal“.
Also, Hleb adds how difficult it was to talk to Wenger: “I cried when I spoke to Wenger. We spoke during the holidays and he told me that he loved me, that I was important. I cried. I didn't know what to do at the time“.
In any case, the Belarusian admits that it was a personal matter and does not blame Barcelona: “Barcelona are a fantastic team. I won titles and everything but I didn't play as much as at Arsenal. It is only my mistake because at that moment Many things happened in my private life and I started at Barcelona being very nervous and very aggressive. It's not that Guardiola didn't trust me, it was my mistake. When you're so happy in a team, you have to stay. “