Former Arsenal star Bacary Sagna admits it was Robin van Persie's departure from the Emirates that made him think twice about the club's ambition.
The Gunners lost a cluster of their top players during a short period which started with Cesc Fabregas' return to Barcelona.
Samir Nasri left for Manchester City the same summer, but it was the exit of the Dutchman in 2012 that really hit home.
Van Persie had fired in 37 goals which earned him a move to Manchester United, but Sagna felt the Gunners should've done far more to retain him.
“I got upset, not when [Cesc] Fabregas left - because that was quite an obvious move - not when [Samir] Nasri left, but when Robin left," he told Goal.
"It was like a statement from the club. He left in a way that no-one understood because he was flying.
“He was a different type of player. An animal on the pitch, a goalscoring machine. When he left, I wondered why Arsenal didn’t try more to keep him.
“Even if they had to spend lots of money, just do it because you have to spend money to get another player. And if you want to win something, it’s going to take time for that player to adapt.
“I didn’t understand that and Alex Song’s move. The two of them left at the same time and I found out reading the French press. That got me really upset.”
Sagna followed Van Persie to Manchester two years later, albeit to the blue side rather than the red, and confesses to a lack of affection from the north London side before he left.
He continued: “To me, personally, if they wanted me to stay I would have stayed. But I didn’t feel like they did everything to make me stay.
"I was not expecting them to run around after me, but I at least expected them to show me some love and make me feel like they wanted me to stay one year before the end of the same contract I had kept for six years without asking for one penny more."
