Arsenal's 5 Worst Summer Transfer Deals of the Last 10 Years

With a week to go in the transfer window, Arsenal fans are still hoping for some new arrivals.

However, any acquisition will be a gamble. It's impossible to guarantee a signing's success. Even Arsene Wenger, who has a terrific eye for a player, has made some dodgy decisions. He's brought in players who weren't good enough, and he's sold players who were.

In this piece, we rank the five worst summer transfer deals of the last decade at Arsenal. 

5. Arsenal Lose Bacary Sagna

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Losing Bacary Sagna on a free transfer would have to go down among the most damaging deals of the last 10 years.

Typically, Arsenal sell players before their contracts expire. In this case, the Gunners lost a great player without receiving any fee in return. That made his departure all the more painful. 

4. Arsenal Sign Sebastien Squillaci

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Arsene Wenger has bought some questionable centre-halves in his time.

The signing of Sebastien Squillaci, which on paper looked a reasonable acquisition, proved to be a disaster. The experienced Frenchman never convinced in an Arsenal shirt, and he became something of a liability at the back.

In his final season with the club, he barely figured for the first team before leaving on a free transfer. 

3. Arsenal Sign Park Chu-Young

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Park Chu-Young will surely go down as the strangest signing of Arsene Wenger's managerial career.

After arriving from Monaco, Park was expected to feature on the fringes of the first team. However, he barely ever took the field. It was clear that whatever conviction had inspired Wenger to sign the South Korean striker had been misplaced.

Park is one of the all-time flops and one of the most curious signings in the club's history. 

2. Arsenal Sell Robin van Persie

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Few transfer deals in Arsenal's history have caused more pain than the decision to allow Robin van Persie to join Manchester United.

Although Arsenal were somewhat over a barrel regarding the Dutchman's future, allowing him to join their bitter rivals made the whole affair particularly sore.

Van Persie's subsequent success in his first season at United merely rubbed salt in the wounds.

1. Arsenal Sign Mikael Silvestre

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Mikael Silvestre is surely the worst Arsenal signing of the past decade.

Alarm bells should have rung when he was allowed to leave Manchester United to join the Gunners. Sir Alex Ferguson would never let a player at the top of his game depart for a rival. He knew that Silvestre was finished.

Soon enough, Arsenal fans were able to confirm that assessment. Silvestre was apocalyptically bad at Arsenal. His performances were so poor that he was able to retain hero status at Manchester United.