Cesc Fabregas has admitted that "always losing" to the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool was a key factor behind his decision to leave Arsenal.
Fabregas was a fans' favourite at the Emirates and took the captain's armband at the age of just 21.
He was an integral cog in the Arsenal midfield, but he never won the Premier League while in north London.
The Gunners last won the league in 2004 - the Invincibles year - and that was Fabregas' first season in north London. He did not play a single Premier League game - he was a teenager - and did not get a winner's medal.
And he would not get the chance to pick one up thereafter.
He would only win the FA Cup and finish as runners-up i the Champions League during the rest of his Gunners spell and he admitted that was a huge frustration for him and led to his eventual exit.
In an interview with former Manchester United man Rio Ferdinand on The Locker Room on the Five YouTube channel, Fabregas spilled the beans.
He said: "I always felt that we were competing sometimes against the world. There was you guys (Manchester United), Chelsea, sometimes even Liverpool and when I spoke to guys at Chelsea and sometimes my Spanish friends at Liverpool, everyone told me the same thing 'we used to hate playing against you guys' and I said the same 'yeah, you used to hate it, but we always lost!'
"In important moments, I felt so frustrated to see big teams always winning and always having that edge. I was very young and very passionate, I was hungry, I wanted to win, I was a competitor, I would have done anything to win for Arsenal and I felt it wasn't coming.
"We had opportunities to sign good players that I felt would make such a difference and for one thing or another they looked away. A lot of things frustrated me and I just decided to go back to Barcelona, they were the best team in the world at that time.
"My brain was a bit gone, so I just felt it was the time."
But Fabregas regretted that decision for one big reason.
"Deep down I think I should have waited two more years probably," he admitted. "Because I had to wait for Xavi to step down and retire!"
