The Club

Top 10 Worst Players in the Wenger era

|

As good as a manager he is, Arsene Wenger has brought in some bad players during his time at Arsenal. These players haven’t been able to take pride in wearing the red and white of the Gunners. Here’s my top 10 list of the worst players Wenger has bought:

10) Andrei Arshavin

Four goals at Anfield (and the trademark tongue-baring goal celebration), and the 2-1 victory over Barcelona at the Emirates were the only time the Russian dynamite excelled at Arsenal. He has quickly gained the reputation of being lazy, especially in defending. Even several Arsenal players disliked his performance, especially in a game vs Man United. Oxlade-Chamberlain made his debut in that game, and had an outstanding performance. However, Wenger decided to bring on Arshavin. van Persie (an Arsenal player at the time) showed discontent at the decision, and boos echoed around the stadium.

9) Marouanne Chamakh

He was a free agent from Bordeaux, but after spending a few seasons at Arsenal, the price wasn’t really a bargain. The Moroccan had a great first season at the Emirates when van Persie was out injured at the time. But when the Dutchman came back, Chamakh couldn’t really get his place back. Even when he was given the chance, horror misses and quiet performances made him one of Arsene Wenger’s worst buys.

8) Nicklas Bendtner

Dubbed as the best player in the world (by himself), the Danish striker only seems to be able to perform for his country. He has failed miserably for Arsenal. He is so bad, that nobody wants to buy him. This is why he is still at Arsenal right now. Spells at Sunderland and Juventus (3 appearances, 0 goals) haven’t made any difference.

7) Jose Antonio Reyes

Even though he had glimpses of brilliance in an Arsenal shirt, injuries and homesickness dented his career at Arsenal. He was bought at a club record fee at the time, but was then loaned out to Real Madrid, and Arsenal took a heavy loss on him.

6) Andre Santos

Several Arsenal fans are much angrier at the Brazilian left-back than van Persie. He was at fault when the Dutchman gave United the lead after just 3 minutes at Old Trafford, and made things worst when he exchanged shirt with van Persie at the end of the match. Despite his quality attacking ability, he just could not defend.

5) Sebastian Squillaci

Signed from Sevilla in 2010, the six-foot centre-half quickly gained notoriety following a series of error-strewn, nervy performances. Last season the Frenchman was reduced to just a single Premier League appearance, despite Per Mertesacker’s abject lack of pace and Thomas Vermaelen’s unfathomable loss of form.

4) Park Chu-Young

Signed on summer transfer deadline day 2011, the South Korean stank of a panic buy and, true to form, barely made an appearance last season for the Gunners. Even though he wasn’t given the chance to play, Arsene Wenger did not trust the former Monaco striker, who made just one appearance in the League all campaign.

3) Mikael Silvestre

Man United snatched van Persie from Arsenal and Arsenal only bought Silvestre from United shows why the Red Devils have been one step ahead of us. He signed for Arsenal in the 2008-09 season and had made a total of 43 appearances for the club, scoring three goals before moving on to the Bundesliga with Werder Bremen in 2010.

2) Pascal Cygan

Snapped up for £2.1m in 2002 to provide competition at centre-half and in the left-back position, the giant defender had a lot of strength, but displayed all the mobility of a tortoise carrying a washing machine. Despite failing to nail down a regular place, the Frenchman hung around north London until 2006, when he was finally shipped out to Villarreal.

1) Francis Jeffers

Francis Jeffers was hands down Arsene Wenger’s worst signing ever. From whichever angle you look at it, it was a disaster. He hardly played and when he did he resembled the thing you need to look out for when taking a stroll in the park. He came with the title of the “fox in the box” something Arsenal apparently needed. Though it is a bit harsh to him seeing as he was a young player who had little to no playing time, the sheer hype around him is reason enough for him to take the top spot.

Share this article

Hi, I'm Ashraf. I am a passionate Arsenal supporter and have been supporting the team ever since I was 8 years old.

0 comments

  • Christian says:

    I don’t really mind articles like that but your reasoning is generally poor. It was literally a complete waste of time.

Comments are closed.