Alexander Hleb: Former Arsenal favourite joins Turkish club Genclerbirligi SK

Just don't ask us to pronounce it

Genclerbirligi SK confirmed the signing of Alexander Hleb on their Twitter profile

Whatever happened to Alexander Hleb? That’s a question never far from the lips of Premier League football fans across the country.

Today, it was revealed that the former Arsenal midfielder has joined the Turkish top flight side Genclerbirligi SK, after a 12-month spell at Konyaspor.

Still amazingly only 33 years old, Hleb had scored twice and recorded a solid 11 assists in 31 games before the Turkish side agreed to cancel his contract and let him join their rivals.

That’s a decent return – but a far remove from the period which saw him make 130 appearances for the Gunners before a big move to Barcelona in the summer of 2008.

He won the treble in Spain – but loan spells including Birmingham City marked a drop-off in his career and Barcelona ultimately released him in January 2012.

Now three years later, it’s a case of what might have been for the Belarus international. He told the Guardian in 2009: “Of course I regret leaving Arsenal.

“I was playing every week for one of the most exciting sides in Europe… for me, leaving was not a good move.”