Squillaci, Cech & Wenger´s worst signings at Arsenal

Arsene Wenger has announced he will be leaving Arsenal at the end of the season, bringing an end to a successful 22-year spell in charge in north London.

The 68-year-old will be hoping to end his spell at the Emirates Stadium on a high as his side prepares for a Europa League semi-final with Atletico Madrid, in what will be his last European home match with the Gunners.

In recent years, Wenger has come under a lot of pressure for his side’s struggles to compete and his transfer policy has often been questioned, having fallen behind the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and even Tottenham in the standings.

On a number of occasions, it’s safe to say that Wenger has made some massive mistakes in the market. Here, we look at five of his worst recruits.

86 – Arsene Wenger has won the most Champions League matches (86 – excluding qualifiers) without having ever won the competition. Frustration. pic.twitter.com/UIRbcF1CEE

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 20, 2018

FRANCIS JEFFERS

Signed from Everton in 2001, there was plenty of excitement about the young striker who was dubbed the “fox in the box”. Arriving for a reported £8million, which at the time was a significant amount for the Gunners, Jeffers failed to make his mark at Highbury due to a mixture of injury problems and competition with the likes of Thierry Henry and Sylvain Wiltord. In the end, he left with just four goals in 22 Premier League appearances and never lived up to the initial hype.

GERVINHO

Taking the number 27 shirt from fellow Ivory Coast international Emmanuel Eboue should have been the first warning for Arsenal fans, as Gervinho’s performances baffled supporters throughout his two-years at the Emirates Stadium. Signed from Lille in 2011, the forward will be remembered for an open-goal miss against Bradford City in the League Cup and for having one of the worst hairlines in Premier League history. Even more infuriating, though, is the fact he went to Roma and remembered how to play again, starring during his spell in Italy.

PETR CECH

Signed from London rivals Chelsea in 2015, Petr Cech was tipped to win Arsenal 15 points a season by former Blues skipper John Terry. However, the performances of the Czech Republic international have often been poor and his woes were summed up this season by a 11-game run without a clean sheet as he waited for the 200th of his Premier League career. Behind David Ospina in both the FA Cup and Europa League, Cech wasn’t a part of the XI that beat Chelsea last year at Wembley and would be unlikely to feature in the Europa League final if the Gunners overcome Atletico Madrid.

SEBASTIEN SQUILLACI

The number 18 jersey at Arsenal will always make fans shudder when it’s handed to a defender, with Sebastien Squillaci following in the footsteps of Mikael Silvestre and Pascal Cygan. Signed in 2010 from Sevilla, Squillaci managed just 46 appearances in all competitions during his three years at the club and quickly fell down the pecking order following the capture of current captain Per Mertesacker in 2011. The France international’s errors early on showed he was well out of his depth.

KIM KALLSTROM

Signed on January’s deadline day in 2014, Arsenal decided to sign the Sweden international despite the fact he had a broken back. He made just four appearances in his loan spell with Arsenal and will be remembered for scoring the second penalty in an FA Cup semi-final shoot-out with Wigan Athletic, though he didn’t feature in the final against Aston Villa where the Gunners ended their long wait for a major trophy. Unsurprisingly, Arsenal didn’t move to make his switch permanent and he retired from football last year.