Arsenal: “Bring him home” not something we’re used to saying

Arsenal fans have had plenty of players leave the club over the years, but the “bring him home” craze is not something that we’re used to saying.

These past few weeks, as Arsenal have hit their stride and started to pull in some huge points on their way into a pretty solid Champions League bid, you’d think that the cry would be for the future. That we’d be celebrating a new era and all that involves, and all the new players that Unai Emery has either brought in, will bring in, or is changing in a good way.

But it’s been a lot of nostalgia. A lot of “bring him home!” cries went around social media when Santi Cazorla created a whole eight chances against Barcelona in La Liga and, meanwhile, I had a “Bring Olivier Giroud home!” article in the queue as I’m starting to feel nostalgic for the big man to come back to the Emirates on a free.

This is a new thing, isn’t it? It’s the first time in quite awhile that I remember having any positive leanings towards players that have departed, especially to the point that I, or anyone else, would take them back.

I think of recent departures of the same caliber as Cazorla and Giroud and you have to go into the debt days, when players like Nasri and van Persie weren’t just leaving, they were burning bridges in the process.

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Not Cazorla and Giroud though, both of whom are missed and both of whom I’d have no problem taking back at the club, no matter their age or contract situation.

I feel like it’s symptomatic of good times, and merely coincidental that neither of these two guys necessarily wanted to leave, they were just put in an unwinnable situation where they had to leave. For Giroud, he had to leave or miss out on the World Cup and for Cazorla, the injury just took it out of him, and he needed a fresh start.

Both players were tremendously endeared to fans, Cazorla from the start, Giroud moreso at the end, but they are and, at this point, will probably always be celebrated players in the annals of Gunner history. And while it’s unlikely that either comes back, it isn’t as crazy as it may seem.

Frankly, I don’t know why the cry didn’t go up sooner. They could both do a service for the club next year.