3 Arsenal Signings That Arsene Wenger Wasted

Arsene Wenger has an incredible reputation for both developing and getting the best out of his players. His success at Arsenal was largely built on buying cheap players and maximising their potential by transforming them into superstars. Despite all his success in this area, Arsene Wenger was occasionally guilty of signing a player and stunting his career.

These were players with all the talent in the world, but once Arsene Wenger was done with them, and being benched or not being played in positions that they were comfortable with, these players did not end up doing well. Their careers were hurt forever.

Here are three Wenger signings that did not live up to the high expectations that they came with.

#3 Gervinho

Gervinho’s ability is undoubted. He shone continuously on the International stage with the Ivory Coast and he enjoyed a prolific spell at Roma after being sold by Arsenal. Eden Hazard even named him as the best player that he has ever played with.

When signed by Arsene Wenger as a 24-year-old, all signs pointed towards him being developed into the latest Arsenal superstar. His £10 Million fee looked to be a bargain whilst his pace and directness should have made Premier League defences fear him. After being sent off in his first game, Gervinho quickly established himself in the team and ended his debut season with 37 appearances.

He was tested as a striker after the departure of Robin Van Persie in 2012 and quickly began to score regularly. Despite this, Olivier Giroud went on to establish himself as the new first choice striker at the Emirates and this coincided with a loss of confidence and form for the Ivorian. At the end of the 2012/13 season, Wenger admitted that Arsenal was holding back his development and the attacking player was sold to Roma for a £3 million loss.

#2 Lukas Podolski:

The German forward joined Arsenal in 2012 for a deal in the range of £10 million. Signing a 27-year-old German international closing in on nearly 100 caps seemed to be a major coup for the London side. A promising debut season saw the German score 16 goals despite prominently being deployed from the wing. His second season was challenging as he struggled with injuries but the player still averaged more than a goal every three games. Podolski also earned his first trophy with the club after playing 60 minutes in the 2014 FA Cup Final against Hull City.

His third season unravelled slowly as Wenger struggled to find a role for the experienced German in his squad. Podolski’s lack of defensive awareness and fitness eventually resulted in him being dropped from the first team and a loan to Inter Milan followed. With Wenger having no plans, the player opted to join Galatasaray in the summer of 2015. Podolski's talent was ultimately wasted in London due to Wenger not being able to accommodate the German in his attacking system.

#1 Andrey Arshavin:

Arshavin joined Arsenal in 2009 for a reported club record fee of £15 million. The high fee combined with his stunning performances at Euro 2008 resulted in Arsenal fans thinking that they had signed one of the world's best attacking players. After his impressive performances during his first 18 months in London, many fans assumed that he would eventually go down as one of Arsenal's greats.

Then suddenly his performances seemed to fall off a cliff during the 2010/11 season. Arshavin's fitness and attitude was questioned by critics who were left to ponder how a player's performances could decline so quickly. Although Arsene Wenger kept his trust in the player for the remainder of the season, Gervinho was quickly signed as a direct replacement when the season ended. This was the end of Wenger's faith in a player who could have potentially been moved to a deeper position to counter his lack of pace.

Whilst Wenger got a good 18 months out of the Russian, he can be faulted for not giving the player an extended run in a central position. At the start of the 2011/12 season, Arshavin was just 30 and his creativity remained. He could have potentially excelled with a position change similar to the one that Santi Cazorla received years later.

Arshavin largely played a minor role at Arsenal over the last two years of his contract. He briefly gained national attention again when he excelled in a central role with the Russian national team at Euro 2012. He returned to Zenit on a free transfer in 2013 and Arsenal fans were once again left with a big 'What If' regarding the Russian star.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback

Quick Links

More from Sportskeeda