Without a club since the summer, Jérémie Aliadière might as well be retired, but he’s yet to make it official.
Since he has some time off, he decided to pop in to SFR Sport’s Le Vestiaire, where he discussed his career, including his many years at Arsenal, where he was under contract between 1999 and 2007.
Loaned out to Celtic, West Ham and Wolves during his time under Arsène Wenger, the now 35-year-old eventually decided to call an end to his time at Highbury and the Emirates due to a lack of game time, even if he was doing so against his manager’s wishes.
Amazed by the French coach’s desire to keep him around despite his multiple injuries, Aliadière will always be grateful towards the 68-year-old for his trust, and even regrets acting the way he did back in 2007.
He said: “I left for Middlesbrough because I forced the move, because I was 24 and needed to play. He was telling me to stay because I’d play. Now, I regret it. For me, Arsenal was the ideal club, and I wanted to do my whole career and spend my life there.
“It felt like a failure when I felt I had to leave, but it’s true that now, I arrived at the same time at Thierry Henry and left at the same time at Thierry Henry. If I’d stayed an extra year, maybe I could have taken his spot.”
During his eight seasons at Arsenal, the French forward made 49 appearances, scored nine goals and picked up one assist.
Since leaving Middlesbrough in 2010, Aliadière has played for Lorient twice, as well as Umm Salah and Muaither SC in Qatar.
