He wanted to leave 3 years ago. The contract talks that occurred have been widely discussed on here and general consensus was, SP offered him a new 5 year contract on a very nice salary and promised that if Wilf signed it he would let him go if the right offer came in. Rumours and speculation I know, however that story has come from so many different sources you have to suspect it’s true.

The right offer has never come in. If Arsenal had the money up front rather than in stages then the £72m paid for Pepe would have been enough I am sure for SP to sell. It was not to be however and it has proved a poor investment for Arsenal and a benefit for us.

I think he is worth no more than £40m now given his age and salary requirements, however I doubt whether SP would let him go for that amount. A very tricky situation although I think the best case scenario is to let him go as we need to refresh the way we play and it’s better not to have to rely on him. Of course, his value will start to plummet as he ends his current contract as well and I can’t imagine a circumstance where he signs a new one.

You've just highlighted why he wanted to leave

Hence some fans saying we are awful to watch.
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Edited by Tickled pink (08 Feb 2021 2.11pm)

Grealish has good attacking players around him doesn't he, you do understand we don't, so Grealish has better balls to him and better players to make the most of what he does on the pitch, not rocket science.
Zaha is frustrated to hell and back with still being here and playing with players who aren't good enough to bring the best out of him and make the most of what he does.
How many wonderful opportunities does he create for our non existent strikers to run onto and also not make themselves available for his pass.