It was my understanding he really wanted to come back to Arsenal and Wenger wouldn't have him back (a mistake, in my opinion). I am somewhat sympathetic to Cesc's desire to play at Barca, to be honest... he had said in interviews many years before that Guardiola was his favourite player ever, and the opportunity to play under him at Barca was only going to come once.
Van Persie was a cunt for pretending to really care about the club on a personal level, then joining our rivals. The fact that he lasted only 1 or 2 years before being shipped off to Turkey means I can more readily re-watch his goals with enjoyment, even if I have no time for him as a person.
Obviously Alexis' transfer is the worst for me, since I saw the guy's debut in my local team, he plays for my national team, and it was neat to see him at Arsenal. As far as I can tell he was committed and professional throughout, though, and considering we aren't even making the CL at the moment and he was a childhood manU fan that's going to get paid more than we would ever pay anyone I'm not that upset... just sad that I'll have to wait a few years for him to retire to re-watch his goals with us and enjoy them again.
