Yes he left the club under a very big cloud and now bleats on about how he made a big mistake when leaving Arsenal, but clearly he is still capable of some footballing magic as evidenced with this fine goal for Stuttgart. It’s worth noting however that this goal was scored against the mighty Timi?oara who are not even the best team in Romania!

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That noise you can hear Mr. Hleb is the sound of the smallest Violin playing a song, just for you!

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Boo-Hoo-Hoo!

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Ex Gunner plotting Emirates return?

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Clever idea?
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Why oh why do they bother!
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Let’s face it England supporters, for most of your team’s matches, you probably couldn’t name three players in the opposition side. That’s because the vast majority of World Cup qualifying games are against little-known teams from eastern Europe. However, unlike England, their total sum is greater than their individual parts, and that can certainly be said of Belarus. [Read the rest of this entry »]

Thierry Henry, Alexander Hleb and Mathieu Flamini have left Arsenal in the past couple of seasons, while you get the impression (!) that Emmanuel Adebayor is not the most loyal player in the Gunners squad at the moment. It’s clear that while all of the above were either unknown or fairly mediocre before arriving at Highbury / Ashburton Grove, they walked out of the club with their reputation as a quality footballer significantly bolstered. [Read the rest of this entry »]

Ex-Arsenal and current Barcelona stars were recently talking up the ability of their ex-boss, but also revealed an air of uncertainty about the clubs future after the Frenchman’s reign.
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Anybody would think that Alexander Hleb had previously worked as a derivatives trader in London’s square mile, the way he speaks about the hustle and bustle that accompanies life in England’s capital. The Belarusian simply had to wake up every morning and play football – hardly the type of stress that most of us endure every day, whether we live in London or not. [Read the rest of this entry »]

Goodness me, Alexander Hleb was really itching to get out of the exit door at Ashburton Grove wasn’t he? Despite a number of clubs reportedly being interested in the Belarusian (Milan and Real Madrid chiefly among them), that hasn’t stopped him from [Read the rest of this entry »]

Arsenal are set to lose yet another midfielder this summer, as Barcelona confirm they have agreed a £12million deal with the Gunners to bring one of their key players to La Liga.

Alexander Hleb is set to arrive in Spain on Wednesday to complete a medical at the Camp Nou and conclude his long-running saga to leave the Emirates Stadium. The deal will not represent a significant profit for Arsenal, who spent £11.2 million to bring Hleb to London in 2005.

Barca’s official website broke the news:

The player Alexander Hleb, who has spent the past three seasons at Arsenal, arrives today in Barcelona to undergo a medical prior to his incorporation in FC Barcelona.

On the assumption that he passes these tests satisfactorily, Alexander Hleb could sign a contract tomorrow and be presented as a new player at FC Barcelona.

The move will bring the spending spree of new Barca manager, Pep Guardiola, to an incredible £76 million, around €95 million, having already spent £6m on Manchester United’s Gerard Pique, £8m on Palmeiras’ Henrique, £13m on Villareal’s Martin Caceres and £34.5m on Sevilla duo Seydou Keita and Daniel Alves.

The Belarussian’s departure leaves Arsene Wenger’s midfield looking light after the transfers of Matthieu Flamini and Gilberto Silva. Granted, Samir Nasri and Amaury Bischoff are set to arrive, but Arsenal are also losing valuable experience with the leaving senior players. Perhaps it could push Wenger to spend big on luring £18 million-valued Gareth Barry away from Villa Park.

What are fans thoughts on the mini-midfield exodus from Arsenal? Is there anyone you’d like to replace Flamini, Gilberto and now, Hleb?

While we could understand if Alexander Hleb was angling for a move to Norwich next season, it’s slightly trickier [Read the rest of this entry »]

Goodness me. A player gets plucked from obscurity, has a decent season in the Premier League and turns into the footballing equivalent of Whitney Houston in the process. [Read the rest of this entry »]

Days after Arsene Wenger declares his interest in a player, Barcelona come along and ruin his plans once again. Not content with unsettling Alexander Hleb and Emmanuel Adebayor, the Catalans have also moved for a player before he’s even reached The Emirates Stadium. [Read the rest of this entry »]

It has been a quietly bubbling transfer saga all of its own, overshadowed by Euro 2008 and the boring Ronaldo-Real ego rub-down. [Read the rest of this entry »]

With Alexander Hleb looking more and more likely to leave the Emirates Stadium this summer, Arsenal are looking to benefit from any transfer deal as much as possible.

Spanish giants Barcelona are reported to have agreed a deal in principal with the Belarusian himself, with only the fee to be sorted between the Catalans and Arsenal. An offer of £20million is suposedly on the table, but Wenger and Co are looking for a deal including Ivorian Yaya Toure, brother of Gunners defender Kolo.

Arsenal are looking for a holding midfielder as a replacement for Mathieu Flamini, and see Toure as the perfect player for the job. They are also reluctant to let Hleb leave without another midfielder coming in, in an attempt to maintain some squad balance.

However, with a successful debut season in La Liga since his switch from AS Monaco and a place in the fan’s hearts, Yaya’s chances of linking up with his brother seem slim. Barca sporting director Txiki Beguiristain said:

“Nothing has been decided as yet, but we want Yaya to stay with us and he is not on the market.

[New Barca manager, Josep] Guardiola considers him to be an important player in his new project.”

With that in mind, it looks unlikely that Yaya will be the makeweight, but with such a turbulent season behind them at Camp Nou, the player may indicate his requirement for some stability and engineer his way to North London.

Not that it’s going to stop him leaving the Emirates if he and his agent have their way. Alexander Hleb had just started to peak for Arsenal when, all of a sudden, he goes out for an ice cream in Milan and comes back to London with his head full of ideas about playing for Inter. Setanta report that the Belarussian has described the Premier League as the best in the world, although also explains that the poor lamb has found it tough going in England. Who’s going to get the violin out for this millionaire footballer?

“I have learned in England that there is still so much to improve,” said Hleb in Frankfurter Allgemeine.

“I have always dreamed of playing in a great club. Now I have learned that it is not so easy and a lot of work.

“The first year was a killer. I felt very lonely.

“It was clear that The Premier League would be a challenge – but with this pace, I have not expected this.

“The Bundesliga is still a good league, but a season in England feels like two in Germany.

“I will tell you an example: When I was here at the beginning, everything went chop chop, so fast. The pace was madness, even in training.

“I look for the ball in front of me, then where I can play it – when I looked down again the ball was gone.

“The English league is the best league in the world.”

Is this Hleb trying to curry sympathy with Arsenal fans before he says his goodbyes and jumps ship? Real Madrid are now reported to be the front-runner for his signature and it’s hard to see Arsene Wenger keeping the player against his will.

Gaffer of Serie A leaders Inter Milan, Roberto Mancini, has confirmed what the press have been saying for months by admitting he has pencilled in Arsenal midfielder Alexander Hleb for a summer arrival.

Reports emerged last month that Hleb and an agent had met with Inter officials after continuous speculation about the Belarus midfielder’s future.

Mancini told Corriere dello Sport:

We have already spoken about the players we would like to sign. We are interested in Hleb, [Udinese's Gokhan] Inler and [Genoa's Abdoulay] Konko.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has already said that retaining the key members of his current squad is his main aim for the summer but with Inter’s wealth and Hleb unsettled, who knows?

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The ice-cream loving winger was caught allegedly slying off for talks with Inter earlier this year, just before the Arsenal were due to play Milan in the Champions League. Although captain William Gallas has called on the likes of Hleb, Fabregas and Flamini to commit to the club for next season, it’s clear that the Belarussian is going to have other offers on the table after a fantastic season for the Gunners.

Sky Sports report that Hleb is banned for the next three matches after losing his rag with Reading captain Graeme Murty last weekend and striking the defender, much to the chagrin of the Royals. Will the player now start plotting his Emirates exit?

Referee Peter Walton did not include the incident in his initial match report as he did not see it, but having video evidence he admitted he would have red-carded the Arsenal midfielder.

As such the FA charged Hleb – and he has now admitted the charge rather than appealing.

Hleb’s season is now over as he misses Arsenal’s three remaining matches against Derby, Everton and Sunderland.

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