Armand Traoré is without a club after Cardiff City released him at the start of this year.
The 30-year-old first arrived in England when Arsenal signed him from AS Monaco in 2005. After a spending a year with the Gunners’ academy, he made his debut for them in October 2006.
Arsenal allowed the former Senegal international to join Juventus on loan for the 2010/11 season and he made 12 appearances in all competitions for the Old Lady.
Traoré’s initial plan to return to the north London club after finishing his temporary stay with the Serie A winners. However, the Turin club wanted to make his transfer permanent.
Speaking to Tutto Juve, the left-back explained why his move to Juve never materialised, despite the Italian giants being interested in acquiring his services.
“The senior members of the team, Chiellini and Del Piero were present at that meeting, along with Marotta and Paratici, Mr [Luigi] Delneri. They asked me if I’d like to come back and they understood it was a very difficult season for me. It was a beautiful gesture.”
When asked what his response was, Traoré explained: “I said yes, but during the summer, Delneri lost his job and I had no news from Juventus. My chance vanished there.
“Years later, when I think back, my intuition tells me that if he [Delneri] had stayed, I would have signed a new contract. My career could have gone differently, but everything happens for a reason.”
Having returned to Arsenal, Traoré made only one league appearance and that came in the Gunners’ 8-2 drubbing against Manchester United at Old Trafford in August 2011.
It happened to be the left-back’s last appearance for Arsenal and days later he completed a move to Queens Park Rangers. A large section of the Gunners’ supporters would remember him for his display against United.
During that period, Traoré’s professional career was largely impacted with what happened away from the pitch.
When quizzed if he would change anything during that period, he said: “Some things yes, but that year was one of the most difficult for me. I lost my father to cancer. He was my point of reference. I was only 20 years old and still very young; my father and I were so close.
“Mentally his death broke me… The truth is that I wasn’t prepared. I was a lost soul. I always came back to Paris after training, even during the week.
“My wife, she was pregnant with our first baby and he was almost dying from a broken appendicitis. So, it was difficult to concentrate completely on football, for this reason I often suffered minor injuries. Life is more important than football and I think that has influenced me.”
