5 players who were lucky to play for Arsenal

Arsene Wenger will always be remembered for some of the extraordinary signings he made during his 22-year reign. But the list of average players signed is also pretty long. His ability to get a bargain in the transfer market did allow Arsenal to invest money wisely but sometimes it made the squad weaker. During the new stadium building phase, the Gunners always resisted investing big money and Wenger is not completely to be blamed for some poor signings made during the era.

Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires, Patrick Viera, and many more have shone in the Arsenal shirt, but then there are players like Andre Santos, Emmanuel Frimpong and Gervinho, who were rated pretty highly when they made a move to Arsenal but turned out to be average or below average players.

Here is a list of 5 such players who were lucky to have played for a big club like Arsenal.

#1. Igor Stepanovs

The Ogre-born Latvian defender was signed by Wenger in 2000 when Tony Adams suffered from what seemed to be a long term injury. He was signed from Latvian side Skonto Riga. He was unheard of but the board trusted Wenger’s gut and went ahead with the signing.

He got his chance to play pretty quickly as Arsenal were dealing with a lot of injuries. Arsenal won the first 4 games out of the seven he played in and he was looked upon as an able back up option. But soon his value came down after a 6-1 hammering at Old Trafford. He made a total of 17 premier league appearances in 4 years, which shows that he never really proved his worth or let’s say he was too lucky to even play for a side like Arsenal who were the best team in England. He was sold to a club named Beveren.

#2. Amaury Bischoff

In 2008, the Gunners signed French-born Portuguese youth international Amaury Bischoff from Werder Bremen. Bischoff currently plays for a third division German club but his arrival at Arsenal was always seen as an ‘average’ addition.

He made just one Premier League appearance and left the club in 2009. Bischoff says his relationship with Wenger was excellent and he still keeps in touch with the French manager.

#3. Andre Santos

Andre Santos did bring flair to the Arsenal team, but his footballing abilities were always a question mark. His signing was seen as a desperate attempt by Wenger to bring a player before the transfer deadline. Santos arrived from Fenerbahce to replace Gael Clichy in the summer of 2011. He was slow, a poor tackler and a reluctant defender who will mostly be remembered for his goal at Stamford Bridge. But, he was also lucky to have signed for the Gunners.

#4. Sebastien Squillaci

Sebastien Squillaci was signed along with Laurent Koscielny to give cover to the injured Thomas Vermaelen in 2010. He was in fact rated as a better defender than Koscielny who was a stranger to the club. He played 32 games in all competitions in his first season but was never a commanding presence in the back line. His mistakes were big ones and he didn’t have the legs to survive the brutal pace and intensity of the Premier League. He ended his Arsenal career 2 years later, having played 39 games in all competitions in his three seasons at the Emirates Stadium.

#5. Park Chu-Young

Park Chu-Young was apparently on his way to sign for Lille but Arsenal hijacked the move and he became Wenger’s fourth signing in the desperate transfer window of 2011. Wenger realized in the training sessions itself that he had go it wrong with this signing, as he handed Park only seven minutes of Premier League action in his first season. He was consistently sent out on loan and didn’t add any worth to the Arsenal side. Fans do remember his goal against Bolton in the League cup and it was a good one.

Edited by Zaid Khan