Top 10 Worst Arsenal Signings Ever

Top 10 Worst Arsenal Signings: Players Signed 2020!

Top 10 Worst Arsenal Signings Ever

Who are the top 10 worst Arsenal signings ever? Which Arsenal players have been in the 10 worst Arsenal signings? Who are the top 10 worst Arsenal signings ever?

Here, we will look at who are the top 10 Worst Arsenal signings ever. The price of the player, their contribution to the team, and their overall play will contribute to their ranking on this list.

They have made a lot of quality signings over the years but like any big club, Arsenal have had their fair share of flop arrivals as well. Here, we will take a look at all the transfers that ended up not working out in North London. Watch & Bet Football Live =>

Check out the 10 worst Arsenal signings ever!

Worst Arsenal Signings Ever – Of All Time!

10. Marouane Chamakh Is One Of The 10 Worst Arsenal Signings

Chamakh joined Arsenal on from Ligue 1 outfit, Bordeaux in 2010. He cost Arsenal absolutely nothing and has still managed to end up on this list due to the expectations he carried along with him.

Chamakh had a promising start to his Gunners career, scoring 14 goals in 67 appearances before joining West Ham United on loan in January 2013. Robin van Persie was the starting number nine then which forced the Frenchman to take a backseat. However, Chamakh never looked capable enough to handle the Premier League, he had a dismal first touch, was very easily shoved off the ball and was not decisive enough in front of goal.

Still, he managed to argue the point that Arsene Wenger had misled him over first-team opportunities, “I played for six months, I scored goals, I was decisive,” the Morocco international argued. “In January [2011], Robin (Van Persie) returned from injury and overnight, I landed on the bench without justification.

“It is clear that I am a little annoyed at [Wenger] because I think I deserved more playing time than what I was given. As the year began, at the start of the season, he told me that we might change tactics and maybe I would be able to play upfront with Robin.”

He was eventually sold off to Crystal Palace in 2013 where he was given only a one-year contract at first.

9. Richard Wright Is One Of The 10 Worst Arsenal Signings Ever

Arsene Wenger handed the goalkeeper a five-year contract in July and brought him in from Ipswich Town for £2m. Wright was pegged to be the successor to David Seaman’s position at Arsenal but after a series of errors and an injury, he dropped down to the third spot of the pecking order, behind youth goalkeeper, Stuart Taylor. Wright was sold off to Everton after only one season for £3.5m.

8. Igor Stepanovs Is One Of The 10 Worst Arsenal Signings Ever

Stepanovs was signed to cover for Tony Adams after the Englishman picked up an injury in the 1999/20 season. His minutes in the first team were growing until he got completely exposed in the infamous 6-1 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

He only made 17 league appearances over 4 seasons before getting sold off to Grasshopper in 2004.

7. Andre Santos Is One Of The 10 Worst Arsenal Signings Ever

Santos was signed in the same transfer window as Per Mertesacker and Yossi Benayoun at Arsenal. He arrived from Fenerbahce for €7m and ended up making 25 league appearances in 2 seasons.

The Brazilian lacked ever decent quality to be a modern-day fullback and yet Arsenal’s scouting team cleared his name to Wenger. Santos was slow, had poor positioning and even poorer defensive skills. His decision to swap jerseys with Robin van Persie during halftime of a 2-1 match against Manchester United further infuriated the club’s fans.

6. Francis Jeffers Is One Of The 10 Worst Arsenal Signings Ever

Signed from Everton for £8m in 2001, Jeffers was a grand failure at Arsenal especially at a time when the club was at their very best in the Premier League. He was given the nickname “fox in the box” and was even chosen over Ruud van Nistelrooy. RUUD VAN NISTELROOY! Can you believe it? Maybe we should make a list of all the blunders Arsene Wenger made during his Arsenal career!

Jeffers ended up scoring only 8 goals for the Gunners and was loaned back to Everton during the Invincible 2003/04 season. Charlton Athletic picked him up that season for £2.6m and it was all downhill from there. During his prime years, he earned 1 cap for the Three Lions and even scored 1 international goal.

5. Oleg Luzhny Is One Of The 10 Worst Arsenal Signings Ever

The Ukrainian defender who represented his country 52 times could never cut it at Arsenal. He could never replace Lee Dixon from the starting XI but even after costing the club £2.3m in 1999. Watch & Bet Football Live =>

Luzhny won two FA Cups and a Premier League title after making 31 appearances for the Gunners.

4. Denilson Is One Of The 10 Worst Arsenal Signings Ever

Despite making over 150 appearances for Arsenal but the Brazilian midfielder could never meet his lofty expectations. Many believed that he was destined for greatness but was proven otherwise after 7 seasons at the Emirates.

Denilson was brought in from Sao Paulo in 2006 for £3.4m. At the time, that was a hefty fee for a teenager but the South American showed a lot of potential as the captain of the U17 Brazil team.

Unfortunately, he faded out of the limelight, unable to cope with the physicality of the Premier League or the intelligence to break into the starting squad. His final seasons at North London were spent out on loan before he eventually decided to cancel his contract.

3. Sebastian Squillaci Is One Of The 10 Worst Arsenal Signings Ever

Squillaci was signed from Sevilla at a time when Arsenal were spread thin in the centre-half position. After 3 seasons at the Emirates, the £6.5m transfer did not turn out to be the player Wenger had hoped him to be.

He made plenty of errors and quickly slid down the pecking order when Per Mertesacker was signed in 2011. Squilacci played 3 seasons with Arsenal and was released in 2013.

2. Park Chu-Young Is One Of The 10 Worst Arsenal Signings Ever

Park Chu-Yong was one of the strangest transfers in Arsenal’s history. In somewhat peculiar circumstances on 30 August 2011, the Gunners signed the striker for £5.5m from AS Monaco.

It was reported that Chu-Young became aware of Arsenal’s interest and fled his hotel room without finishing the medical he had scheduled with LOSC Lille.

He was not exactly a scoring machine at AS Monaco, managing 26 in 103 appearances but Wenger still decided to go after the South Korean. Chu-Young let it be known that he wanted to leave the French outfit after their relegation from the top-flight.

What was even more strange was that the striker was immediately handed over the number 9 shirt right, upon his arrival to the Emirates. A season later his jersey number was reassigned to 30 when Lukasz Podolski came in from Mainz.

Chu-Young spent three seasons with the Gunners during which he had two loan spells with Watford and Celta Vigo. After 7 appearances for the senior side and a single goal, he was released by Arsenal in June 2014.

As a result of his flop at Arsenal, Daily Telegraph reporter, John Duerden went on to compare Park’s move to North London as “the worst call to answer since Colin Farrell picked up a New York public phone in Phone Booth and endured a few hours of misery.”

1. Shkodran Mustafi Is One Of The 10 Worst Arsenal Signings Ever

If you are the club’s most expensive defender ever and then you perform the way he has been recently, then you definitely deserve to be named at the very top of this list! Shkodran Mustafi has been a massive failure at Arsenal after signing for £35m from Valencia in the season of 2016.

Arsene Wenger had selected the German due to his impressive performances in La Liga, where he showed great technical abilities along with resolute defensive skills. The Gunners got a clear picture of his footballing talents but were also subjected to his woeful decision making on the pitch.

Mustafi has deteriorated with every season he has been at North London and all of the club’s fans wish to get rid of him this season. Arsenal should move him out of the Emirates as soon as possible to extract whatever value he has left in him. Watch & Bet Football Live =>

Special Mention: Nicolas Pepe

How poor has Nicolas Pepe been for Arsenal? The Gunners splashed out £72m to sign him from Lille and he has been nothing short of a disappointment. Admittedly, Arsenal did overpay for Pepe but he has not shown to be even half of the player in comparison to his price tag.

Fans saw a glimpse of what he is capable of. Cutting in from the right flank onto his favoured left, the Ivorian is devastating with his feet. He has the most wicked curlers in his boots and skills to drop any defender. But he is far too inconsistent to fully affect a game on his own.

Not to mention, he is not exactly suited to Arteta’s compact possession-based football. Pepe came to life in a counter-attacking Lille side in the 2018/19 season. His best traits are utilised in the final third when he has a handful of defenders to beat. At Arsenal, he is asked to do a lot more and the 25-year-old is simply up to the task of doing them.

It is still early to call him a flop but he is increasingly looking like one. Watch & Bet Football Live =>

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