5 biggest flops in Arsenal history
Arsenal are nowhere near the club they once were and that is a reality their supporters have come to terms with. They have been in the need to rebuild and carry out a proper transition for the last few years. Mikel Arteta, now in his third season, is the man in charge to spearhead that process.
The Spaniard is not afraid to let go of players who he feels will not help the club make serious progress. The next list on that name could be Nicolas Pepe who is the north London club's most expensive player at โฌ80 million. The winger has shown glimpses of his quality and trickery when isolated with defenders but hasn't produced the numbers he should be producing.
Many players failed to do justice to the Arsenal badge
His understanding of the game has been poor and that has seen him fall down the pecking order. Many Arsenal fans have pronounced him a flop, but there's always a chance that he can turn things around. His tally of 26 goals and 20 assists in 102 appearances is decent if viewed in isolation without letting the price tag influence you.
However, there have been worse players in the club's history who were massive flops while they lasted at the club. Their arrival was looked forward with anticipation and once they started exhibiting their game, their departure was looked forward with equal anticipation.
There was hope attached to all these signings, but they never fully delivered on the promise. Here are 5 of the biggest flops at Arsenal.
#5 Francis Jeffers
There can be multiple "worst" Arsenal playing XIs that can be compiled for various reasons, but the likelihood that Francis Jeffers will make the centre-forward spot in all of them is very high. By no means was he a finished product when Arsene Wenger signed him from Everton for โฌ15.3 million.
That was a lot of money in 2001 and it was being paid for a youngster who was going to develop and come good. But, the then 20-year-old forward flopped royally and rather than reaching his predicted ceiling, declined badly.
Jeffers was hailed as a "fox in the box" while he was with the Toffees. Clever with his movement inside the box and tidy with his finishing.
Newcastle Jets
Floriana
Francis Jeffers career path:
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Everton
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Arsenal
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Charlton
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ณ๓ ฃ๓ ด๓ ฟ Rangers
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Blackburn
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Ipswich
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Sheffield Wednesday
๐ฆ๐บ Newcastle Jets
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ณ๓ ฃ๓ ด๓ ฟ Motherwell
๐ฆ๐บ Newcastle Jets
๐ฒ๐น Floriana
๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ Accrington Stanley
Never lived up to his promise. https://t.co/f3ftm7nASu
With the quality of the players Arsene Wenger had surrounding his No.9, the new lad was never going to lack quality service. But Jeffers succumbed under the pressure that came with the Arsenal badge. He scored eight goals in 39 appearances and was eventually considered impotent to even be the back-up striker.
It was not his fault that he was signed by the Gunners over a certain Ruud van Nistlerooy. What a joke.
#4 Gervinho
Inconsistency has been one of the major issues that famed players have been criticized for at Arsenal and Gervinho was no different. There were flashes of promise and glimpses of how dangerous his phenomenal pace could be for opposition defenses. However, that pace only seldom accomplished the wonderful.
The Ivory Coast international joined the Gunners in 2011 and left after a two-year stay. His figures of 11 goals and 12 assists in 63 appearances were not particularly bad, but it was what the forward did before and after his spell at the Emirates that made him an underwhelming signing.
Goals scored in 63 games for Arsenal: 11
Goals scored in 30 games for Parma: 11
Gervinho has equalled his two-season tally for the Gunners in one season in Serie A. ๐ https://t.co/YQ1hGEZjVL
Gervinho arrived at the back of two very successful seasons with LOSC Lille, having provided 23 and 27 goal contributions in successive Ligue 1 campaigns.
One of the reasons he flopped at Arsenal was Arsene Wenger's decision to utilize him predominantly on the left wing, while he played on the right side of a three-man frontline at the French club.
But that does not take away from the fact that Gervinho is responsible for his own underwhelming tally in the Arsenal outfit. The player missed quite a few glaring chances and that is certainly on him.