Oh Arsenal, Arsenal!! How does a Premier League fan start to describe this club? The unparalleled model for success or failure depending on whom you ask, no other club has divided opinion as much among its own fanbase or outside it. Judging the administration of the Gunners over the past decade involves fine margins – between consistency and stagnation, between footballing success and financial success, but most importantly, between hope and daydream.
Through the eye of the storm, Arsene Wenger walks on calmly, season after season, indifferent to the pleas of the fanboys and haters alike; essentially running a football club by himself in a way that has hardly been seen in the 21st century. Always having prided himself on his ability to spot and develop talent, Wenger has signed in excess of 80-90 odd players since his last Premier League title.
For every astute Koscielny purchase, there was a hapless Squillaci as well; for every well scouted Bellerin story, detractors will remind you of a certain Andre Santos. Here’s a look at 5 recent signings Wenger won’t be looking back upon with fondness:
#5 Mathieu Debuchy
The Frenchman finds himself in this list due to a series of unfortunate injuries. Debuchy seemed the perfect replacement for the outgoing fellow French international Bacary Sagna at the time of his signing. The full-back had made a name for himself as a quality attacking right back during his time at Newcastle, and Wenger was keen to retain Premier League experience in defence – it seemed the perfect marriage at the time.
Debuchy's troubles, however, started in September 2014 when he damaged his ankle ligaments during a match against Manchester City. A few months later, he had to undergo surgery for a dislocated shoulder, ruling him out for a further three months. By the time he was fit, Arsenal had found themselves a new starter in Hector Bellerin, who had established himself as one of the best fullbacks in the league – let alone the Arsenal squad.
The relation between the former Lille man and his manager has understandably strained – and there are contrasting reports about whether Wenger has refused to sanction his sale or whether there is a lack of suitors. Signed as the first choice right back and currently arguably the fourth choice, it is safe to say Debuchy’s signing hasn’t panned out as Arsene Wenger had planned.
#4 Yaya Sanogo
2012-13 represented a quintessential post-Highbury season for Arsenal – zero trophies, exit from the Champions League at the Round of 16 stage and nicking 4th place from rivals Tottenham at the last minute. Wenger and Gazidis, as had become the norm, confidently stated on media that big money signings and world class players are on the way. Many Arsenal fans thought this was a hint that a world class striker was part of the agenda. And thus, Higuain and Benzema were persistently linked.
Instead, Arsenal fans were greeted to the signing of Yaya Sanogo.
Through no fault of his own, Sanogo has come to represent everything the WengerOut contingent has to say – incompetence of the present suffered stoically in pursuit of an ever distant pipe dream. In the seasons to follow, Arsenal would go on to be the pacesetters for the first half of the season – only for a painfully familiar lack of depth to make its haunting return in the early months of the new year.
#3 Park Chu-Young
Strongly rumoured to have been signed for commercial reasons, even his most ardent followers doubted whether Park Chu-Young, despite all his qualities, possessed the calibre to feature for a European giant like Arsenal. One of Asia's biggest footballing names at the time, the news of the South Korean captain's signing was, however, greeted with incredulity and cheer by the club's Asian fanbase.
A goal against Bolton in the Carling Cup aside, Park hardly ever got so much as a sniff at first team opportunities. After seven minutes of Premier League action in his first six months followed by a string of disjointed loan spells at various clubs, Park finally returned home to South Korea-based FC Seoul. Disillusioned by life in Europe, he had finally decided something had to give way if he was to remain in the national team.
His entire career at Arsenal begs the question – why did Wenger sign him at all, if it was only to ship him away without even being considered as a decent squad option?
#2 Kim Kallstrom
Normally when a manager dips into the transfer market to seek a short term replacement for an injured midfielder, the fundamental criteria they keep in mind is simple – the fitness and availability of the mooted transfer target. Arsene Wenger, however, had other ideas – with transfer deadline looming a few hours, he decided to take a punt on Kallstrom for a 6-month loan deal, despite scans showing three damaged vertebrae ruling him out for at least 6 weeks.
It was eventually to be March 25 before Kallstrom could feature for the first time in an Arsenal jersey.
Kallstrom would go on to be a cult figure in just 4 appearances, prompting sarcastic tags of "The Swedish Arsenal legend" among others. In his short stay, though, Kallstrom still managed to etch himself in the memories of Arsenal fans with a well-taken penalty in an FA Cup semi-final against Wigan Athletic. He would later describe the cameo as the "greatest 15 minutes of my life."
#1 Andre Santos
When a player gets beaten up by his own fans, it raises serious questions about the challenges faced due to crowd violence in domestic football. But once you turn that to an afterthought, one can't help but ponder how deep the fall from grace had been for the said player.
Santos never demonstrated the competence to play for a European giant like Arsenal, and the subsequent years of his career would go on to prove definitively the gigantic error of judgment Wenger made in signing him. One amongst a number of signings prompted by the early season mauling at the hands of Manchester United, Santos was yet another reminder that when Wenger gets it wrong, he tends to get it horribly, horribly wrong.
