During Arsène Wenger’s reign at the north London club, Arsenal adopted a few defining characteristics.
They tried to play attractive football, consistently failed to make what seem like obvious defensive signings and, finally, always looked to bring young players into the first team.
Wenger had great success moulding talented prospects into world-class footballers, with some of the notable examples being Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and Cesc FÃ bregas.
Even towards the end of his tenure, when he was under severe pressure from some of his own support, he still looked to the long-term and gave chances to promising youngsters.
However, there are plenty of examples over the years where a player that seemed destined for the top never managed to hit the heights the Gunners expected them to.
With that in mind, here are 10 former Arsenal players that didn’t quite make the grade at the Emirates Stadium.
Fran Merida
Arsenal had great success with FÃ bregas, and they hoped to repeat the trick when they brought 17-year-old Fran Merida over from Barcelona in 2007. Wenger described him as an “absolutely amazing player” after completing the deal and, like FÃ bregas, he was a technically-gifted, creative central midfielder.
However, he was unable to make the breakthrough to become a regular first-team player, joining Atlètico Madrid on a free transfer in 2010. The former Spain Under-21 international was only on the fringes at Atlètico, and had spells at Braga, Hercules, Atlético Paranaense and Huesca. He’s now at Segunda División side Osasuna.
Jérémie Aliadière
Jérémie Aliadière was a product of the famous Clairefontaine academy, and one of his former coaches ranked him alongside Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka (via BBC Sport) as the most promising French strikers to come through in a decade.
He joined Arsenal ahead of rival interest from some of Europe’s leading clubs at the age of 16, and made a very encouraging start, equalling Michael Owen’s record of nine goals on the Gunners’ way to lifting the FA Youth Cup in 2001.
It never really worked out for him at first-team level, though, even if he did win a league medal after making 10 appearances during the club’s historic unbeaten campaign in 2003/04.
He joined Middlesbrough in 2007, before a fairly successful spell with Lorient in his homeland, and had a spell with Umm Salal in Qatar before another brief stint at Lorient. He’s currently unattached.
Quincy Owusu-Abeyie
Quincy Owusu-Abeyie was released by Ajax as a 16-year-old because of problems with his attitude, but he was snapped up by Arsenal and scored 17 goals in 20 appearances at youth level in his first season in England.
The forward’s speed and skill caught the eye during his early showings at senior level, but he left in search of first-team football after the arrival of Emmanuel Adebayor and Theo Walcott in January 2006.
He’s been something of a journeyman after leaving the Gunners, playing for 10 different clubs in the years since, and most recently played for Dutch outfit N.E.C.
Denilson
When the midfielder arrived at Arsenal from Sao Paulo in 2006 he was both young and Brazilian. That certainly seemed like an excellent combination. What could possibly go wrong? The South American nation boasts a constant conveyor belt of talent, and Wenger had managed to land the latest Samba star for a paltry fee.
Unfortunately, he failed to live up to the hype. Competition for places and injury issues saw Denilson gradually slip down the pecking order before he was released in 2013, along with fellow flops Andrey Arshavin and Sebastien Squillaci. The shame.
He went back to Sao Paulo but left two years later, joining Al-Wahda in 2015. He headed to Cruzeiro in 2016 but failed to make an appearance. The last we heard of him he was signing for Brazilian Series B side Botafogo in October 2018.
Philippe Senderos
Arsenal saw off competition from a number of leading clubs around Europe, including Real Madrid and Manchester United, according to Sky Sports, to sign Philippe Senderos from Swiss club Servette in 2003. The centre-back was hailed as a star of the future, but he’d become a joke figure towards the end of his time at Arsenal.
It wasn’t all bad, as he started in the 2005 FA Cup final win and helped them reach the 2006 Champions League final, but he seemed to lack the resilience to play for a big club, and was completely dominated by Didier Drogba several times.
Senderos signed for Aston Villa in 2014, but after a troubled two-year spell he left for Grasshoppers and – via a brief stint at Rangers – headed to the MLS with Houston Dynamo in 2017.
Carlos Vela
Carlos Vela is arguably one of the most gifted talents on this list, but his only real contribution for the Gunners was a few impudent lobs in the League Cup. The Mexico international had superb technique, pace and an eye for goal, but he struggled to settle in England, and Arsenal never saw the best of him.
After a loan spell with West Brom, Vela moved to Real Sociedad on a permanent deal in 2012. There was speculation, per the Mirror, that Arsenal were looking at bringing the versatile forward back to the Premier League in 2014.
Nonetheless, he stayed with the La Liga side until last year but is now turning out for newly formed Los Angeles FC.
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas signed for Arsenal as an eight-year-old, and became the captain of the Under-18s when he was only 16.
The promising talent had impressive technique, but was also a superb athlete, which meant it took some time for him to find his best position as a forward.
He rose to prominence with a stunning goal against Everton Reserves, but only ever made a handful of first-team appearances.
He carved out a decent career for himself in the lower leagues after a solid season at Bristol City and also had spells with Milton Keynes and QPR between 2016 and 2017.
Now he’s back in the big time – and we use that phrase very loosely – after joining Thai club PTT Rayong.
To give them their full name: Petroleum Authority of Thailand Rayong Football Club.
David Bentley
There were very high hopes for David Bentley when he progressed through the ranks at Arsenal, and was often compared to club legend Dennis Bergkamp.
The winger scored a glorious chip against Middlesbrough in 2004 to open his account for the Gunners, but quickly became frustrated with a lack of first-team opportunities and joined Blackburn Rovers in 2006.
He impressed at Ewood Park and earned a £15 million move to Arsenal’s fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur, but his career was never quite the same after that.
He only played 42 league games for the club over five years, with a number of unsuccessful loan spells in between. The former England international retired from football at the age of 29, claiming he’d fallen out of love with the game.
Jermaine Pennant
Arsenal signed Jermaine Pennant from Notts County for £2m when he was just 16, which understandably led to huge expectations for the promising winger.
He made his debut aged 16 years and 319 days, which made him the club’s youngest-ever player at the time. He also scored a hat-trick on his full league debut against Southampton.
Problems off the field prevented Pennant from living up to his potential at Arsenal though, and he’s since had spells at Birmingham, Liverpool, Stoke, Pune City, Tampine Rovers, Bury, Billericay Town, the Big Brother house and The Jeremy Kyle show. As you do.
Amaury Bischoff
Amaury Bischoff’s arrival at the Emirates came straight out of left-field, and he seemed to have gone almost as quickly as he arrived. The virtually unknown midfielder arrived on a one-year deal from Werder Bremen in 2008, though Wenger admitted it was a gamble as a result of his injury history.
The German only made four appearances for the club in total, before being released at the end of the season. Bischoff currently plays for Hansa Rostock in the third tier of German football.
Ryo Miyaichi
Plenty of hype surrounded Ryo Miyaichi’s arrival at Arsenal in 2011, as many felt that the Japanese winger’s incredible skill could make him a potential world-beater.
He had a very impressive loan spell at Feyenoord in 2010/11, which saw him dubbed “Ryodinho” by some of the Dutch media, but his progress was derailed by a serious injury while on loan at Wigan Athletic.
His Arsenal career ended with a whimper, as he joined FC St. Pauli of the German second tier in 2015.
The post 10 Arsenal kids who failed to make the grade appeared first on Squawka News.
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