Arsenal bounced back from their 2-0 defeat at Southampton with arguably their best performance of the season on Sunday, beating less than friendly rivals Stoke City 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium.
Alexis Sanchez added another two goals to his tally for the season and further underlined why he should perhaps be considered the signing of the season.
The Chilean has fired 18 goals for the Gunners in all competitions this season and is the main reason why they have managed to climb up to fifth in the Premier League table.
The target of a top four finish is looking more likely after this weekend’s action, especially with rivals Tottenham and Manchester United both suffering defeats.
And with Sanchez in the kind of form he is in at the moment, Arsene Wenger will feel confident anything can happen in the cup competitions – esepcially if he is able to add some quality additions this month.
They will have to be more in the mould of Sanchez however than these five transfer failures we have identified from yesteryear.
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Click on Arsene Wenger to reveal Arsenal’s top 5 ‘transfer regrets’ from years gone by.
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Francis Jeffers – 2000/2001
Arsenal paid Everton £8 million for the services of Francis Jeffers in the summer of 2000 with the Englishman described famously as ‘a fox in the box’.
Jeffers spent his Arsenal career looking more like a donkey in the box unfortunately, simply out of his depth alongside the likes of Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp.
He wasn’t released permanently until the summer of 2004 however, with a record of four league goals in 22 appearances for the Gunners. He has since played for clubs the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Newcastle United Jets and Accrington Stanley of Australia.
Nicklas Bendtner – 2005/06
The Dane may have only cost £200,000 from Kjøbenhavns Boldklub but in hindsight, you would find few Arsenal fans willing to part with £2 for his services!
Bendtner only left the club permanently last summer, having spent his Gunners career either out on loan or making a fool of himself with his ridiculous comments and off-field controversies.
When he eventually left the club, Bendtner had a record of 108 Premier League appearances and 24 goals – better than some may think – but still nowhere near good enough to earn that move to either Real Madrid or Barcelona which he famously claimed he deserved!
He is now struggling to score and being a general idiot at Wolfsburg of the Bundesliga.
Andrey Arshavin – 2008/09
Arsenal fans were delighted with the capture of Andrey Arshavin in January 2009, with the Russian having been one of the stars of Euro 2008.
His first half a season at the Emirates Stadium showed he was worth the Gunners breaking their club transfer record to bring him to North London with his four superb goals in an incredible 4-4 draw against Liverpool at Anfield proving a highlight.
But it wasn’t long before Arshavin faded, perhaps living off that four goal showing at Anfield for too long and he soon became seen as a lazy luxury player.
Despite a series of underwhelming performances, it wasn’t until 2013 that Arshavin left the Emirates Stadium, being released for nothing having originally signed for £15 million.
Gervinho – 2011/12
Having signed from Lille for £10 million in the summer of 2011, the Ivory Coast international has been one of the more recent transfer flops for Arsene Wenger.
To his credit, Gervinho managed a few important goals for the Gunners during his time at the Emirates Stadium but he fell short on too many occasions.
Whether deployed as a winger or a centre forward, Gervinho is the definition of hit and miss.
Unfortunatley the misses – and big ones at that – proved far too frequent and Gervinho was shown the door in the summer of 2013. He is currently playing for Roma in Serie A where his goal record is in fact pretty impressive.
Mesut Ozil – 2013/14
Arsenal fans were delighted with the £42.5 million signing of Mesut Ozil on deadline day 2013 but the German has done little to repay the club’s world record transfer fee.
Ozil could yet come good but up until now, his Arsenal career has been a major disappointment.
The German international has been consistently injured and often off the pace in the Premier League.
His lack of physical presence has been an issue, although some Arsenal fans may argue he has been played out of position and not been given an extended chance to show what he can do in his preferred ‘number 10’ position.
But for such a massive transfer fee, you can’t argue Ozil should have produced far more than he should have up to now.
