The ten worst Arsenal signings in the Premier League era.
10. Sebastien Squillaci 2010-2013
The French international arrived with high hopes in the summer of 2010 at being able to shore up a leaky defence that had let them down the previous year. His £4.5m fee from Sevilla seemed reasonable enough, but what the club got was a player so bad that he gave fans across the country, no matter what their age, the hope that they could still make it to play in a World Cup.
Used as a League Cup stop gap towards the end of his Arsenal career and was moved on to Bastia over the summer.
9. Richard Wright 2001-02
When he arrived at the club Wright had been tipped to be the long term replacement for David Seaman and came with the reputation as one of the finest young goalkeeper’s in the country and £6m seemed like a bargain.
However, his 22 appearances in an Arsenal shirt were so erratic that Wenger decided early on that he couldn’t be trusted. Capable of batting away a swerving 25-yard drive in one instant, but then on the other was just as comfortable letting a near post tap in trickle past his glove. Amazingly, he’s now at Manchester City.
8. Phillipe Senderos 2004-10
Though he didn’t command a large fee, he was brought to the club as an eventual replacement for the veteran Tony Adams and therefore carried a hugh weight of expectation with him.
And despite being a large imposing figure at the back, his weakness was just what should have been working for him: his size. Routinely manhandled by the likes of Didier Drogba (and even Emile Heskey) teams didn’t have to work to hard to figure out how to get the better of him.
7. Denilson 2006-13
Mooted as a future star when he arrived from Sao Paolo in 2006 after regularly captaining the Brazilian under-17 side, he was expected to become a mainstay of the Gunners midfield once he got brought up to speed with the rigours of English football.
But, he never did quite catch up and he frequently put in mediocre displays that caused Arsene Wenger to lose patience with him, loaning him back to Sao Paolo for a season before selling him back there permanently over the summer.
6. Junichi Inamoto 2001-02
With the upcoming World Cup in 2002, Wenger sprang for Inamoto in a bid to add some much welcomed marketability to his side. It also didn’t hurt that the player had been displaying some fine form in his home nation too.
However, it quickly became apparent that he wasn’t quick, skilful, or physical enough for life in the English top flight. Often subbed when he did get on the pitch, Wenger decided against offering him a longer deal, but that didn’t stop West Bromwich Albion and Fulham from taking chances on him, though.
5. Julio Baptista 2006-07
‘The Beast’ made a name for himself as a free scoring playmaker at Sevilla before he joined the Gunners on loan in 2006. Wenger had been a long time admirer of the player and was delighted when he finally got his man.
And though he managed to bag 10 goals in 35 games in north London, his wild inconsistency meant that his manager was left constantly baffled and frustrated. Frequently complaining about the weather, Baptista never managed to rediscover his scoring touch and now plays for Malaga.
4. Pascal Cygan 2002-2006
His wooden, immobile style of defending didn’t really fit in with the ethos that Wenger had done so well to implement at the club.
He’d already had quite the long career with Lille in his homeland and perhaps seemed like a good deal at the time as he only cost £2m, but when he was used so regularly, much to the chagrin of the Arsenal faithful, then he can count himself lucky that he managed to pick up a league winners medal.
3. Francis Jeffers 2001-2004
Jeffers was one of the most exciting young talents in the game when Arsene Wenger splashed out £10m on his services, believing him to be the goal poacher that the club had needed so badly.
What they got was nine goals in 39 appearances over four seasons, one of which was spent back at Everton. He had failed to fit into the tactical workings of the club and his work ethic was constantly in question, and the finishing qualities he’d displayed so well at Everton had deserted him. Tours of the lower leagues followed as well as spells in Australia and Malta.
2. Andre Santos 2011-2013
Santos’ biggest crime in an Arsenal shirt was to swap his for former teammate’s Robin Van Persie during a defeat to Manchester United last season. Never a hugely popular figure amongst fans but that was the icing on the cake that sealed his fate in north London and he was promptly loaned back to Brazil before being sold permanently over the summer.
1. Jose Antonio Reyes 2004-2007
Reyes had been signed off the back of the enormous potential he had shown at Sevilla and many thought he would be in the best possible company to highlight his ability in the Arsenal side of the early ’00s.
Things began brightly for the young Spaniard, having bagged a brace against Chelsea he was soon brought back down to earth by Manchester United, who bullied him during their trip to Old Trafford that he never quite recovered and he soon became lazy on the pitch and lost his place.
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