It has not been the start to the season Arsenal fans here in the Football Transfer Tavern had been hoping for.
Many had tipped the Gunners for a serious assault on the title this season, however Wenger’s man already trail leaders Manchester City by five points, having taken just four from a possible nine over the opening three matches.
Wenger has strengthened with the signing of Petr Cech from Chelsea so far this summer, but critics reckon he still needs another striker and a defensive midfielder before the squad can be labelled potential champions.
There are still five days remaining of the transfer window, and it remains to be seen as to whether Wenger will spring another surprise.
If he does, he would do well to avoid a repeat of the transfer clangers listed below – as we have identified the five worst Arsenal signings of the last decade.
Click on Arsene Wenger to reveal the top five worst Arsenal signings of the last 10 years
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Nicklas Bendtner
Signed in the summer of 2005, Arsene Wenger thought he had snapped up one of the best young strikers in Europe.
Everyone could see quickly however that Bendtner was destined to be a flop – apart from the player himself.
After several loan spells and hardly any goals, Bendtner almost managed 10 years on the Arsenal books doing nothing besides making a fool of himself with off the pitch antics and ridiculous comments. He is still waiting for that move to Barcelona or Real Madrid.
Mikael Silvestre
The only positive about Arsenal’s signing of Mikael Silvestre in 2008 was that he didn’t cost anything.
Some would argue that was still too much however.
The French defender was clearly past his best at Manchester United, so quite why Arsene Wenger brought him to the Emirates is anyones guess.
He made no impact whatsoever, and was the latest in a long line of flop defensive signings as Wenger looked to replace Sol Campbell and Kolo Toure.
Andrey Arshavin
The Russian had impressed during Euro 2008, a tournament which convinced Arsene Wenger to splash out £15million in January 2009.
After a decent start and those famous four goals in the 4-4 draw with Liverpool in April of that year, Arshavin faded badly.
He became known for being lazy, and was considered the symbol of the new Arsenal according to various critics- technically decent but with no character and no fight.
Maraoune Chamakh
Arsene Wenger thought he had pulled off a transfer coup when he pipped Liverpool to the free signing of Maraoune Chamakh in the summer of 2009.
The Moroccan forward was supposed to be the long awaited ‘plan B’ the Gunners had been searching for, and despite a decent start it soon became apparent Chamakh was hugely out of his depth.
He was eventually moved onto Crystal Palace, where he is still struggling for Premier League goals to this day.
Andros Santos
Having sold Gael Clichy to Manchester City the same summer, Brazilian Andre Santos arrived as a late replacement in 2011 for a fee of £6million.
He was a liability almost from the word go, with a goal in the 5-3 win at Chelsea perhaps the only positive thing he contributed during his time at the Emirates Stadium.
He will be remembered more for swapping shirts with none other than Robin van Persie at HALF TIME of a routine defeat at Old Trafford – where of course the Dutchman had already scored in a 2-1 win for Manchester United.
