I won two titles at Man City despite wanting to stay at Arsenal – they pushed me out.
Former Manchester City defender has opened up on the reasons behind his exit from Arsenal and why he felt the club no longer wanted him to stay in north London.
Gael Clichy admitted his decision to sign with Manchester City came off the back of his belief that Arsenal no longer wanted him.
The former French international made a name for himself at Arsenal after joining from Cannes in 2003. His debut season with the Gunners is famously remembered for their unbeaten ‘Invincibles’ campaign, making Clichy the youngest player to win a Premier League title at just 18.
The league victory, however, would be the last trophy Clichy lifted during his stay with the north Londoners. Early in his Arsenal career, Arsene Wenger faced the challenge of filling the void left by departed legends like Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Dennis Bergkamp, and Patrick Vieira.
As Arsenal transitioned to their new home at the Emirates Stadium, their budget tightened, and the exit of key players became a frequent occurrence. Speaking to the official Arsenal podcast in 2020, Clichy reflected on the club’s shift towards championing a British core as a pivotal factor in his move to City in 2011.
Clichy recalled: “I remember clearly at that time the club was trying to promote more British players. There was a group of four or five players, they were putting them out there, they wanted to build the team around them and I was getting to a point where, not the injuries, but where you feel that the club is saying they [don’t] want to keep you,” reports the Mirror.
“I don’t think they wanted me to leave but I didn’t feel at the time that they wanted me to stay. I believe nowadays in football when you want a player to stay, you tell them you want them to stay and you make sure he stays.
“I didn’t feel that at the time. I’m not the only one, if you look around at the other players who left at the time that I left they would probably tell you the same and I think overall the decision was good for everybody.
“It wasn’t linked to my injury, it wasn’t linked to anything but I could feel that the club was pushing towards something else.” Clichy confessed there was once a point when his intention was to see out his career at Arsenal.
However, the club’s extended period without silverware during his tenure played a pivotal role in his decision to pursue a fresh challenge. “If you speak with my close friends, my family, there was a moment where I was dying to finish my career at Arsenal because I was loving every single moment of it,” he declared.
“But at the same time seeing how it was going, seeing that for those last few years where we hadn’t won anything, it was down to me as the player and I thought that maybe it was time to break the circle.
