7 Arsenal Players of Last 10 Years Who Never Won over the Fans
Try as they might, some players can never quite seem to win the love of the fans. It might be due to a lack of ability, a dubious attitude or some other factor, but the chemistry between player and supporters is never quite right.
Arsenal have had their fair share of black sheep over the past decade or so. There have been a number of players who have never felt quite right at the club and whose departures were subsequently never mourned.
Go to the next slide to discover the first of seven players who, despite their best efforts, never won over the Arsenal faithful.
Julio Baptista
1 of 7
Julio Baptista arrived as part of a swap deal that took Jose Antonio Reyes to Real Madrid. It was a double loan deal, and it was telling that, after 12 months, Arsenal declined the option to make the signing permanent.
Baptista arrived with a glowing reputation from Spain. At Sevilla, his barrel-chested style had earned him the nickname The Beast and a multimillion-pound move to Madrid. He appeared tailor-made for the Premier League. However, he struggled to adapt to the pace of the game in England and was unable to translate his form to these shores.
Baptista will be remembered for one outstanding performance in the 2007 League Cup during which he scored four goals at Anfield. However, that night remains an anomalous high in an otherwise disappointing Arsenal tenure.
William Gallas
2 of 7
With his Chelsea past, it was always going to be difficult for William Gallas to win the hearts of the Arsenal fans. However, he did not help himself with poor performances and petulant behaviour.
When Gallas joined the Gunners in a swap deal for Ashley Cole, there were plenty of fans who suspected manager Arsene Wenger may have got the better end of the deal. Gallas arrived with a glowing reputation and bags of Premier League experience. However, the move did not go entirely to plan. He struggled to settle at Arsenal, failing to strike up a convincing partnership with Kolo Toure.
When, after just one season, he was made Arsenal captain, the decision was met with widespread bafflement. Those doubts proved correct when Gallas had his infamous tantrum on the pitch at St Andrews in 2008.
Gallas later compounded his difficult relationship with the Arsenal fans by choosing to join Tottenham as his next club.
Mikael Silvestre
3 of 7
Like Gallas, Mikael Silvestre had the problem of arriving at Arsenal with an association with one of the Gunners' rivals. However, had Silvestre lived up to his billing as an experienced and effective centre-half, the fans may have been able to forgive his past. Instead, his inept performances meant he left the Emirates Stadium significantly more unpopular than when he arrived.
Almost as soon as Silvestre set foot on the pitch for Arsenal, it became clear why Manchester United had been willing to let him go. Here was a player well past his best and struggling to keep pace with younger, quicker strikers.
Wenger had intended to recruit Silvestre as a stopgap at centre-half. All too often, there was merely a gap in the heart of the Arsenal defence. His eventual release in 2010 was both inevitable and a relief.
Park Chu-Young
4 of 7
Park Chu-Young remains one of the most baffling signings of the Wenger era.
The South Korea striker was on the verge of moving from relegated Monaco to Lille when Wenger pounced to bring him to north London in 2011.
However, having made the move, he barely figured at Arsenal. We can only speculate as to why Wenger's perception of the striker seemed to shift so dramatically after the transfer, but Park became a peripheral figure at Arsenal before being loaned out to the likes of Celta Vigo and Watford.
When he did occasionally take to the field for the Gunners, he seemed to lack the physical attributes required to thrive in English football. His time with Arsenal was strange, short and devoid of any bond between player and fans.
Nicklas Bendtner
5 of 7
As a product of the Arsenal academy, Nicklas Bendtner really ought to have struck up an immediate rapport with the Gunners fans.
However, it never quite happened. The biggest issue was his attitude: Despite his obvious talent and physical gifts, Bendtner never really seemed to apply himself on the field. He was guilty of strolling around the final third, waiting for the ball to come to him rather than making proactive runs in behind. Bendtner, it became clear, believed himself to be far better than he ultimately was.
That point was made by some high-profile misses, which did little to endear him to the Arsenal supporters. By the time he left north London in 2014, Bendtner had become something of a joke figure at the club. It was good to see him get a decent reception when he returned with Wolfsburg for a friendly this summer, but he was rarely greeted so warmly during his time as an Arsenal player.
Sebastien Squillaci
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Sebastien Squillaci ought to have been a very sensible signing in 2010. A grizzled centre-half with plenty of French caps behind him and a Champions League final appearance in the tank, he seemed ideal to solve Arsenal's problems in central defence.
However, from day one, he was a liability to the team. Squillaci never settled at Arsenal, and the fans knew it. Eventually, even Wenger appeared to give up on him, leaving him to languish in the reserves rather than exposing him to more humiliation on the pitch.
Yaya Sanogo
7 of 7
Even to this day, there are players in the Arsenal squad who are yet to win over the Arsenal fans. Yaya Sanogo is one such man.
Although Wenger clearly has enormous faith in the young French striker, he has yet to convince the supporters of his potential. The beanpole striker is still waiting for his first Premier League goal two years after his move from Auxerre.
The good news for Sanogo is that he is still young enough (22) to win the hearts and minds of the supporters. He is currently on loan with Ajax—some good performances there could help convince the sceptics that he could yet be good enough for Arsenal.
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