Pace yourself Lad.

3 years ago no one would have predicted Alex Hleb would be playing for Birmingham City. Alex Helb was another one of Mr. Wenger's discoveries when in june 2005 he signed for a fee that could rise up to €15 million. Goals where not expected from him, as he was a compliment to a very intricate passing system that saw him develop an almost telepathic relationship with Cesc Fabregas. Helb spent most of his season playing in the right/left midfield where he was able to roam into central positions in attack. The midfield supplied Emmanuel Adebayor with 30 goals in the 2008-2007 season. That same season, the Gunners where in with a shout to win the league until it fell apart on February 24th when they drew at Birmingham 2-2. Despite that, it was still a good achievement for a Gunners side that had been dismissed by pundits in the preseason. Helb went on to join Barcelona in the summer of 2008 for a total fee of €17 million. Helb left the 4-4-2 system for Barcelona's 4-3-3 system which requires its wingers to have agile trickery, elusiveness, and pace (Henry and Messi). Helb possesses none of those attributes leaving his only realistic position for him at the two central midfield positions which where occupied by untouchable midfield combination Xavi and Iniesta. Helb lost his reputation as a talented player and became a fringe player which has led him to go on loan to Stuttgart and now on loan to Birmingham City at 29 years of age. Hleb has openly regretted leaving the Gunners, in what seems like an attempt to save face that he is still capable of performing for big clubs Hleb says "I had a few options - Liverpool, Tottenham and Benfica," and went on to say "But Birmingham clearly wanted to do the deal more than the others, which is why I made my choice."...by that statement he has classified himself as a player that is not as coveted as he once was by the top clubs.

All I have to say is be careful Cesc.

The Alex Hleb story has happend often with players who leave arsenal when they are supposed to hit their primes.

Flamini: now on the fringe at AC Millan

Emmanuel Petit: ended up in a then mediocre Chelsea team

Adebayor: on the fringes at Man City

Patrick Vieira: on the fringes at every club he has been too

Anelka: took 8 years to settle at Chelsea.

To name a few.

By : Babatumi Sodade