The former Arsenal star admitted that leaving the Emirates Stadium could be the wrong decision
Leaving Arsenal at a young age is a big challenge for any player, and that’s what Kyle Bartley is doing in hopes of developing his football career.
Bartley has represented a host of clubs on matchdays, including Sheffield United, Rangers and Leeds – the latter of whom faced the Premier League champions on Saturday. The former defender, now 35, retired from the sport last year after a sensational start to his career when he broke through to Arsenal’s first team aged 18.
The former Gunners reserve team captain spent two years in the club’s academy and after rising to the senior squad, Bartley was then sent out on two loans to the Blades, but his breakthrough came during his time with the Scottish giants.
He played nine games in Rangers’ domestic double in 2010/11 but has been told his opportunities will be limited following his return to Arsenal. The likes of Per Mertesacker, Thomas Vermaelen, Laurent Koscielny, Johan Djourou and Sebastian Squillaci were all ahead of him, meaning his playing time was limited.
A lack of chances led to Bartley’s return to Ibrox, where he made 21 appearances in all competitions and became accustomed to being a regular starter. However, his decision to rejoin Rangers was one his agent had initially advised against.
Speaking via the Glasgow Times last year, Bartley admitted that leaving Arsenal in search of regular game time may have been a miscalculation on his part. He said: “It was a difficult position for me at the time.
“Because I played reserve football at Arsenal for a couple of years and captained the team… After that, to experience real football in Scotland… I just wanted more.” Bartley’s second spell at Rangers ended with the club relegated from the Scottish Premiership after going into administration mid-season.
He explained: “So I convinced my agent to do the deal and I went back to Rangers and obviously it was a really difficult year for the club afterwards. They got themselves into a bit of a mess and although I had a great time there, in retrospect it might have been a better career decision for me to stay at Arsenal that year.”
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Bartley signed for Swansea City in 2012 but made just 38 appearances for the club over six years, with most of his Swans career hampered by injury and loan spells at both Birmingham City and Leeds.
He eventually found a home at West Brom in 2018 and spent seven years at the Hawthorns where he made 232 appearances for the club before a knee injury forced him to hang up his boots.