Memorable mistakes the Arsenal manager has made during his time in charge of the Emirates Stadium side.
Francis Jeffers
The ‘Fox in the Box’ turned out to be anything but. Arsene Wenger invested £8m in the Everton forward back in 2001 and is widely considered one of the Arsenal manager’s worst ever signings.
Jeffers netted eight goals in 39 appearances for the North London club and looked well out of his depth a point that has been evidenced by his career downturn once Arsenal had offloaded the forward to Charlton.
Spells at Australian side Newcastle Jets and Accrington Stanley were perhaps more in keeping with the striker’s quality, or lack thereof.
Robin Van Persie
Selling the Dutchman to a rival club left many Arsenal fans angry and dumbfounded and the forward’s 30 goal return in his first season led to a Premier League title and confirmed that Wenger had sold a player still in his pomp to Sir Alex Ferguson, who gladly welcomed the prolific marksman.
The striker had publicly stated his intention to not sign a new contract but at the same time Arsenal could have used his services for another season.
Instead he allowed the striker to complete a £24m move to Old Trafford.
Yaya Toure
Arsene Wenger reportedly passed on the opportunity to sign the powerhouse midfielder when he took part in a trial with Arsenal during his brother Kolo’s stint at the club.
Wenger felt he had more than enough midfield options and opted to not sign the Ivory Coast star, who of course went on to star for Barcelona before doing likewise at Man City.
Imagine just much Arsenal could have done with Toure in recent seasons, offering real protection for the club’s creative talents whilst also being a very real goal threat to boot.
Sebastien Squillaci
French veteran was signed by Arsene Wenger to help beef up his back-line, it was a move that back-fire spectacularly.
Somehow Squillaci is a two time Ligue 1 title winner and has racked up 21 international caps but he proved error prone and abysmal during his three year stint at the North London club.
Indeed such was his negative effect on first team matters that Wenger handed him just one 11 minute top tier run out 2011/12 and in that period Arsenal managed to concede two goals and slump to defeat away at Fulham, with the defender to blame for both goals.
Park Chu-Young
Quite how South Korean Park Chu-Young is still at Arsenal has dumbfounded many.
The signing of the then 26 year old back in August 2011 has to rank as one of the strangest Arsene Wenger has ever made. Now on loan at Watford, he made his first start against Bolton, the Hornets lost and he was hauled off on the hour.
Wenger may well be ready to release the forward on a free transfer if a fee for his services can not be secured.
Gilberto Silva
A player who was getting on in years and therefore considered to be past his prime by Arsene Wenger. The Brazilian has stated that he had been made to feel “totally useless” by Wenger. The defensive midfielder had always put in a valuable shift in the Gunners first team but at some point was seemingly deemed surplus to requirements and was then shipped off
to Panathinaikos.
Then proceeded to get a new lease of life in Greece, helping his Athens side to a domestic double and is still playing today at age 37 back in Brazil with Atlético Mineiro who he helped to a Copa Libertadores last July.
Proof that an insistence on trusting to youth shouldn’t come at the expense of valuable experience and know-how.
Ashley Cole
Yes he acted like an idiot and demanded a big pay rise and helped push himself towards a Gunners exit but did Arsenal have to offer such a helping hand?
Selling a top quality player to the opposition perhaps became a habit the moment Wenger allowed the left back to move to Stamford Bridge.
Like it or not the England international has proved that the decision was a sound one, winning a Premier League title, a Champions League winners medal and about a million FA Cup successes to boot.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
The Swedish super star apparently came close to joining Arsenal when he was available during his time at Malmo however Arsene Wenger insisted that the PSG forward needed to prove himself in a trial before he’d sign him, Ibrahimovic said he didn’t do trials.
The forward left for Ajax and the rest is history.
Patrick Vieira
Arguably the one player, above all others, who has never been effectively replaced. The leggy rangy midfielder left for Juventus after nine years of sterling service. It’s a fair bet that the French international could see on the horizon a lean spell and opted to make Serie A move. Perhaps it’s a move that the club could have prevented by showing more ambition, it’s certainly a move that could be described as a defining moment in the history of the football club.
Jose Antonio Reyes
Arrived with a fanfare in January 2004 the Spanish attacker never settled at Arsenal and can certainly be considered one of Arsene Wenger’s most expensive mistakes.
Whilst a move for Andrei Arshavin, though ultimately a failure, could be forgiven given the Russian’s standing in the game at the time of his move to Arsenal Reyes gets no such leeway.
Reyes failed to settle in England and proved a disastrous acquisition. Currently attempting to revive his career at Sevilla.
SEE ALSO: PES 2014 best players: the 20 highest ranked players on Pro Evolution Soccer 2014.