Arsenal FC: Carlos Vela and 6 Players Who Haven't Lived Up to Expectations Yet

At Arsenal, it is not uncommon for players to lose their form when they come to the club. For example, Russian hotshot Andrei Arshavin, who had just performed amazingly in the 2008 Euro Championships, came to North London; a move that was highly anticipated. Though he did not play badly, he didn't really show the same that he did a few months earlier.

For some reason, this isn't quite rare at Arsenal, as there have been multiple instances of people not playing as well as they were when they arrive at the Emirates. This has been the case for a few of the current Gunners, and that is what I will bring to attention.

Here are six players who haven't performed as well as they were supposed to.

Kieran Gibbs

Kieran Gibbs has always been regarded as a player with potential. He has always showed flashes of what he could be, as he is a speedy youngster whose touch can be very good at times. He can cross well occasionally, but the Englishman is far too inconsistent.

When Gael Clichy was at Arsenal, Gibbs got virtually no time to show how much he has developed over the course of the years. However, Clichy's presence has definitely hurt Gibbs, as he has barely had any match practice. 

So now, because of Clichy, Gibbs' potential hasn't been completely squandered, but I don't think that he will be as good as he could have. He is already 21 years old, which isn't that young for footballers (considering many people make debuts as teenagers), and he isn't showing signs of that much, which leaves us with doubts on how good he can really be.

Though Gibbs has already made his England debut, he's not even close to having a starting spot, as there is competition from people like Ashley Cole for the left back.

However, this doesn't mean that he can't be good. He does have a lot of potential, and even if he develops it a little late, he could be very good.

Carlos Vela

Carlos Vela is known to have a dirty left foot. He has scored many nice goals with his favored foot, for example against Bolton. Another reputation that he has among Arsenal fans is for having loads and loads of talent.

Gunners fans have been waiting for Vela to become a great striker, as his potential could enable him to be one. Unfortunately for Gooners, the Mexican international hasn't really used the skills that he was born with, as he hasn't gotten a place in Arsenal's Starting XI.

Vela might have been a little frustrated with his form at Arsenal, so in 2007 he did a loan spell at Osasuna, a Spanish team. Then, last year, he was loaned to West Bromwich Albion, where he scored two goals in eight games.

One moment that Carlos will probably remember is when he started for Mexico in the opening day of World Cup 2010 in South Africa. He has been on the senior squad since 2007.

So, hopefully Mexican Carlos Vela won't keep Arsenal fans waiting for him to use his potential.

Tomas Rosicky

If Tomas Rosicky doesn't start to pick up his form quickly, it's doubtful that he will be very remembered by Arsenal Football Club. Rosicky, who is a Czech attacking-midfielder, has shown much promise in the past, but he never succeeded in using it very well.

Rosicky, who began his career at Sparta Prague, and later moved to Borussia Dortmund, before ending up with Arsenal in 2006, hasn't always been starting for the Gunners. With some injuries obstructing him, his playing time at the Emirates hasn't been as much as he was hoping for. He also missed a penalty against Sunderland earlier in the year; probably the low point of Tomas' 2010/2011 season.

Now, as 30-year-old Rosicky isn't happy with his recent play, he is one of the Arsenal players who has been linked with other clubs, including Aston Villa and Fulham.

A few years ago, Rosicky could have been good, but I just don't see him getting so much better at age 30.

The expectations that many Arsenal fans had set for Tomas were not met, and he might need to be sold by Arsene Wenger.

Sebastien Squillaci

Arsene Wenger bought Sebastien Squillaci in the summer of 2010, without expecting too much of him; all he had to do was partially mend the Arsenal defense, which has been terrible for a while. The Frenchman's only job was to not be a disaster.

He was a disaster.

His center-back pairing with Laurent Koscielny was the first thing that Wenger tried out last season. Squillaci was so mistake-prone, that Le Professeur decided to take him out, and replace him with Swiss Johan Djourou.

Even in the preseason of 11-12, Squillaci made a horrendous blunder against Hangzhou Greentown, and Arsenal ended up drawing.

So, with everything going against Sebastian Squillaci, it's no surprise that the desire for him to be sold is mutual between player and club. He couldn't even do the job of not being catastrophic, and he isn't exactly popular among Gooners.

Marouane Chamakh

At Bordeaux, Yoann Gourcuff and Marouane Chamakh teamed up to be a great midfield-striker combination; a pair that attracted the attention of several big teams, including Arsenal. Therefore, Arsene Wenger brought him to North London—there was much anticipation, as Gooners hoped that he would impress, like at Bordeaux.

However, at Arsenal, the Morrocan international hasn't been able to use his height to his advantage, as he only started 18 games and was subbed in 11 times. In those games, he scored only seven goals, which doesn't match the 56 goals he scored at Bordeaux in seven seasons.

It doesn't look like Arsene Wenger has much faith in him, as he is already 27, and doesn't get much playing time. 

Chamakh is a major threat in the air, but his problem is that he isn't even near as good with the ball at his feet than on headers.

Hopefully, Marouane can blend more into the Arsenal squad, so that Gooners can see more of him and he can score more goals.

Theo Walcott

Theo Walcott is definitely one of the fastest footballers in the world. The way he can dart around defenders is a quality that only people like Lionel Messi have. Walcott is also very talented, but the problem for a while has been his inability to play a good final ball.

Walcott has endured limitless amounts of criticism from Arsenal fans, who say that he has no touch, shot, or cross, and also call him a one trick pony. They are somewhat right; he really can't deliver a cross well, and sometimes he is even too fast for the ball!

The Englishman started out the 2010/2011 season very well; he scored a very nice hat trick in the second match against Blackpool, and was able to shoot very, very well. Unfortunately, when he played for England against Switzerland, he got injured and couldn't find his form again.

According to many sources, Walcott has been working like a dog, training, and working on his touch so that he can get better.

However, so far, he hasn't used his talent to achieve heights as high as he wants.