Arsene Wenger changed British football forever, there’s no doubt about that.
His time in north London shifted the culture of Premier League football. Some of the players he signed will be remembered as long as there is Premier League football.
But nobody’s perfect, and Wenger had more than his fair share of forgettable and truly questionable signings.
We take a look at those transient Arsenal stars, how they fared at the Gunners and what they’ve been up to since.
Denilson
A Brazilian defensive midfielder and ready-made replacement for Gilberto Silva? Nope. Denilson was an Arsenal regular for five seasons but was the first on a long list of Arsenal players deemed unworthy to fill Patrick Viera’s boots
And so began the famous narrative that Arsenal lack a gritty man in the middle. Many have tried and failed. Mathieu Flamini, Francis Coquelin, Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka, Lucas Toreira have all tried and failed.
Denilson was an average defensive midfielder before it was fashionable.
Forced out of the starting lineup by Jack Wilshere, Denilson signed for Sao Paulo on loan in 2011.
The Brazilian finally showed some of the anger that Arsenal fans lust for, getting sent off twice in his first three appearances before calling the coach ‘annoying’. But all was forgiven as he helped the club win the Copa Sudamericana.
2013 and he moved permanently to Brazil, and stayed in his homeland but for a short stint in Abu Dhabi.
Yaya Sanogo
Yaya Sanogo was exciting, no doubt about that.
A huge prospect at Auxere, Sanogo drew Premier League interest before his 16th birthday. Four years later and Arsenal were still interested, snapping up the towering forward for the 2013/2014 season.
With a nomination for Europe’s Golden Boy under his belt, Sanogo properly kicked off his Arsenal career that February with appearances against Liverpool and Bayern Munich that earned praise from Arsene Wenger.
Sanogo then grabbed four goals in the pre-season Emirates Cup.
Cue delirium from Gunners fans. This. Is. It.
Sanogo was loaned to Crystal Palace in January, Ajax in the summer, Jong Ajax in January and Charlton the summer after.
Cue silence.
Sanogo is now playing his football at Toulouse.
Nicklas Bendtner
Tangible evidence that confidence can get you pretty much anywhere in life. Symbolic of the more questionable side of Arsene Wenger’s famous loyalty.
Bendtner joined Arsenal’s youth setup in 2004 and signed professionally in 2005. He’s been around that long and yet he’s only 32.
The man is able to manipulate time but was never very good at football.
A decade with Arsenal was littered with drama on and off the field, with the Danish forward existing solely on the fringes of the first-team.
The player’s finest achievement with the Gunners was cultivating a cult following. Known affectionately and ironically as ‘Lord Bendtner’ and then at Rosenborg as ‘Emperor Bendtner’, the forward thrives off his dubious popularity.
That said, 30 goals in 81 appearances for Denmark is nothing to be sniffed at.
Ryo Miyaichi
Arsene Wenger made many great signings at Arsenal. Ryo Miyaichi isn’t one of them.
The Japanese winger was signed after impressing Wenger during a trial but spent the next four years darting around between England and the Netherlands on various loan spells, all the while making just seven appearances for Arsenal.
Perhaps the most damning part of Miyaichi’s career is that he’s only managed just two appearances for his national team.
Whatever Wenger saw, few have seen it since.
Miyaichi now plays his football at FC St Pauli having left Arsenal for the German side in 2015.
Christopher Wreh
Let me take you back.
For those of you too young to remember (me), Christopher was part of Arsenal’s double winning side of 96/97.
Back when £300,000 was a lot of money in football, Wenger – who had coached Wreh at Monaco – brought the striker to Arsenal.
But he faced competition. Nothing too bad. Just Ian Wright, Dennis Bergkamp, Nicola Anelka. So he went on loan to Greece to wait his turn.
Upon returning to Arsenal, Davor Suker and Thierry Henry had arrived and so Wreh took the hint.
That he made 28 Premier League appearances for Arsenal is actually quite impressive.
He has since played and scored for Bishop’s Stortford.
Valur Gislason
You thought Wreh was niche?
How about Valur Gislason? You know, older brother of Stefan Gislason? The famous Gislason brothers?
Valur Gislason moved from Icelandic side Fram to Arsenal in 1996 and made zero appearances.
Did Wenger just want to sell shirts? Who knows.
Gislason went on loan to Brighton where he made seven appearances. A stint at Strosgodset and Fram fans finally had their man back.
Jehad Muntasser
Jehad Muntasser will be remembered by Arsenal fans who saw the second half of their October 1997 League Cup match against Birmingham City, where he came on as a sub.
That was that for Muntasser at Arsenal before moving to Bristol City where he failed to play a first-team game.
But despite a lack of game time, Muntasser became a bit of a Libyan legend for having trained alongside the likes of Dennis Bergkamp.
He was a regular for his national side while playing club football in Italy and then Qatar before retiring in 2011.
