Arsenal may have won nothing in the past five years but the players that have appeared for them throughout various eras have generally been regarded as the type of player you expect at a big club. This is mainly because of current manager, Arsene Wenger, and his nous when it comes to spotting talent. However, even the great Frenchman has got it wrong on several occasions.
Along with him, and several others, there have been times when they haven’t got it right and the appearance of that player in an Arsenal shirt is something they’d rather forget. Here are five of them:
Francis Jeffers – £8m was paid for the so-called ‘fox in the box’. Four goals in 22 matches for the Gunners showed that he was probably playing football like a fox would. It’s no surprise that his career didn’t really kick off prior to or after his Arsenal spell.
Igors Stepanovs – the defender is a much-travelled one. This gives some indication as to what other managers think of him I suppose. He may be 6ft 4in but that don’t mean a thing when you look at his time in north London where he never fulfilled any supposed potential. His worst moment must surely be his role in Arsenal’s 6-1 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford, in 2001.
Glenn Helder – a player from the “1-0 to the Arsenal” era and was meant to be a tricky winger. Just because he’s Dutch it doesn’t mean he’s going to end up a class player- he was the opposite of that. Scored only one goal and didn’t really contribute as a winger would be expected to.
Kaba Diawara – who?! I had to jog my memory of this rather clumsy striker who barely lasted a season with the Gunners. Not a good piece of business and the fact that he has played for 17 clubs in 17 years says it all…
Mikael Silvestre – what was the point in signing him? Silvestre is as dodgy as they come and will frequently put his side in trouble with his casual, and quite dopey, style of defending. Recently showed that he is no way up to Premiership standard with his performances against Tottenham and Barcelona.
So, there you have it, a pick of five footballers who have made their time at Arsenal a waste of time. They may be a club that has won many trophies but there are plenty of players who are missing from this list that have been spared the embarrassment. Please comment below on who you would have liked to have seen in the list.
