Ranking the 5 greatest players to win the Champions League after leaving Arsenal

Henry (left) and Cole (right) were part of the invincibles at Arsenal

In recent years, Arsenal have lost their status as a Champions League side and for the first time in 26 years, they are out of European competitions completely. The decline has been steady and not much has been done about it in the last decade. The Arsenal faithful have been cursing the owners for their lack of involvement with the club both financially and sentimentally.

Many crucial players left Arsenal to fulfill their Champions League ambitions

The Champions League eluded Arsenal even in their glory era during the starting years of this century and since then their chances have only slimmed. During 2000s many established and important figures in the Arsenal team left for greener pastures.

Arsenal were losing their core and Arsene Wenger's attempts to put together another strong side only yielded domestic success in multiple FA Cup triumphs. The Champions League dream just kept going farther and farther.

Mikel Arteta is starting to give a new identity to the team and is working at the moment with what is the youngest squad in the Premier League. This new Arsenal will need to draw inspiration from the heroes of the past, but there aren't many figures there who stayed true to the shirt forever.

Some of these greats left the club to fulfill their dream of lifting the Champions League trophy. On that note, we present you with five of the best Arsenal players who decided to leave the club and win the Champions League elsewhere:

#5 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Norwich City v Liverpool - Carabao Cup Third Round

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is one of the many names that graduated from Southampton's academy to play for their senior team before being snatched away by a big club. Chamberlain signed for Arsenal in 2011 for a fee that was reportedly around £15 million plus add-ons.

He was an attack-minded midfielder by trait who was sometimes utilized to play out wide as well. After joining Arsenal, he won the FA Cup thrice between 2013 and 2017. Despite his journey with Arsenal giving him plenty of taste of domestic cup success, the road to the Champions League only opened after he made a move to Merseyside.

🚨 NEW: Steve McManaman has urged Arsenal to re-sign Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

“I think Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is easily worth the money. If he wants to leave and play first team football that’s entirely up to him.” #awlive [football london] https://t.co/qYMj69KftK

Arsenal made some much-needed profits when the 'Ox' signed for Liverpool for £35 million. Despite his minimal involvement with Liverpool due to injuries, Chamberlain won the Champions League in 2019. He was on the bench against Tottenham Hotspur in the final of the Champions League. The following season he also won the Premier League with the Reds.

#4 Olivier Giroud

Olivier Giroud lifts the Champions League trophy

One of the most criminally underrated strikers of the last decade in world football, Olivier Giroud deserves more credit for his time at Arsenal than he usually gets. The Frenchman joined the Gunners in 2012 for a decent €13 million. Since then he has produced many inspirational and unbelievable moments in an Arsenal shirt before moving on.

His trophy cabinet from his time at Arsenal only consisted of FA Cups. Not one, not two, but three of them. Giroud was among the best goalscorers with his head in the Premier League. But despite scoring over 100 goals in an Arsenal shirt in all competitions, Giroud always felt like he could be replaced by the club's next striker.

With Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's arrival, Giroud left for London rivals Chelsea in a €20 million move in 2018. It was the start of winning big for Giroud. The World Cup winner added a fourth FA Cup to his tally in his first year with the Blues.

Olivier Giroud with 3 goals in 4 Serie A appearances so far this season. He turned 35 two weeks ago 🍷

ℕ𝕦𝕞𝕓𝕖𝕣 𝟡 𝕔𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕖 𝕒𝕥 𝕄𝕚𝕝𝕒𝕟? 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙣.

@_OlivierGiroud_ 👏🔴⚫️ https://t.co/Ae0sDeTEsS

The following year, he emerged as the top scorer in the Europa League with 11 goals and scored against Arsenal in the final en route to lifting the trophy. The France international fulfilled his dream of winning the Champions League last year under Thomas Tuchel. He scored six goals in eight appearances for Chelsea in their European title run last year.