Arsenal's five worst ever signings under Arsene Wenger including £35m howler
Top marks if you remember all five ????
Arsene Wenger was famous for both the players he signed at Arsenal and also the ones who got away over the years.
With Wenger at the helm, Arsenal were said to be interested in almost every player who went on to win the Ballon d’Or, a tale that was often what could have been.
However, Arsenal’s talent identification or timing wasn’t always so effective, as can seen with the five names to follow.
Below is a list of the five worst signings of the Wenger era, a period that was decorated with three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups, but also some very poor choices in the transfer market.
5. Lucas Perez – £17m
In fifth place we begin with Lucas Perez who arrived at the club from Deportivo La Coruna in 2016 for a reported fee of £17.1m.
Perez had a wonderful left-foot, there was no issue with Arsenal’s talent spotting in this scenario.
However, Perez only played 21 games for Arsenal in total, scoring seven goals in the process.
The Spaniard, who was 27-years-old at the time of joining, simply wasn’t needed at the Emirates Stadium, a player often stuck behind either Alexis Sanchez or Olivier Giroud.
Eventually Perez wanted out of Arsenal after the club decided to give his No.9 shirt to Alexandre Lacazette who joined the summer after.
Just before he left, Perez was famously quoted saying: “I want to leave, to play and be happy.”
4. Wellington Silva – £3.5m
Arsenal struck a £3.5m deal for Wellington Silva all the way back in 2010, a Brazilian forward who became a familiar name around north London despite never playing a game for the club.
Silva didn’t make one single appearance for the Gunners despite being on their books until 2016, when he eventually returned to Fluminense.
The reason? Silva wasn’t granted a work permit to play in England until 2015, four years after he had officially signed for the club.
Eventually, Silva managed to acquire a Spanish passport which allowed him to represent the Gunners.
However, he still never featured for Wenger. Now 31-years-old, Silva has played in all of Japan, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and China in recent years, a winger with a very interesting CV.
3. Chu-young Park – Undisclosed
When Arsenal rushed through a deal to sign Chu-young Park from Monaco in 2011, many supporters were guilty of taking to YouTube to watch compliation videos of his goals and in turn, they expected big things.
Judging by his goal scoring in France and back in South Korea, Park looked like a brilliant signing for Arsenal, someone who could provide proper cover for Robin van Persie.
It’s thought that the striker cost Arsenal between £3m to £5m, a move that was pinched from under Lille’s noses.
Park completed the first part of his medical at Lille, but didn’t turn up for the rest.
The South Korea captain was in London instead signing for Arsenal, a player many thought would turn out to be a vintage piece of Wenger brilliance.
However, after just seven appearances and one goal for the Gunners, Park was released on a free transfer three years later, a bizarre stay at the Emirates Stadium.
2. Kim Kallstrom – Loan
Put bluntly, Arsenal decided to sign a seriously injured player on loan for six-months in the shape of Kim Kallstrom.
The Swedish midfielder, who earned 132 caps for his country in total, arrived on loan in 2014 in the final hours of the January transfer window.
Kallstrom was meant to be a boost to Arsenal’s options in midfield, adding a bit of experience and quality too.
However, just days before signing for Arsenal, Kallstrom had picked up a fairly serious back injury whilst playing beach football in Abu Dhabi, according to reports.
After the revelation, Wenger said: “I wouldn’t have signed him if we had another two or three days, but it was on Friday at 5pm.”
Kallstrom eventually got fit and made his debut for Arsenal in March of that year.
In total he made four appearances, one start and played 135 minutes in an Arsenal shirt, another bizarre move.
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1. Shkodran Mustafi – £35m
That brings us onto Shkodran Mustafi at first place on the list, who actually signed in the same window as Perez.
Mustafi cost Arsenal £35m meaning the club spent more than £50m on the pair, who did very little to improve Wenger’s side.
Unlike the rest of the names on the list, Mustafi made a lot of appearances for Arsenal, 151 in total.
The German certainly had some good moments in an Arsenal shirt, he scored in a 2-0 win over Tottenham in 2017.
However, Mustafi eventually became a ridiculed figure in N5, a defender who was prone to errors at the Emirates.
Arsenal finally spent big on a defender under Wenger – something the fans were demanding for years.
However, Mustafi wasn’t the steadying presence Arsenal needed, he only added to the often chaotic decisions the Gunners made at the back.
A popular figure around north London, but a move that was definitely not a success, especially when you consider that Mustafi was Wenger’s sixth most expensive signing ever.
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