Arsene Wenger may not have won a Premier League title in more than 10 years and he may not have brought the glory that the Arsenal fans constantly crave for, but there is no denying that he has had a great history in unearthing talents. The Frenchman has turned plenty of youngsters with potential into world-beaters during his time at Arsenal. Be it Thierry Henry, be it the legendary captain Patrick Viera or their former midfield lynchpin Cesc Fabregas.
However, that eye to spot a star seems to have waned over the years with most signings in recent history for Arsenal turning out to be duds. Take Park Chu Yong, Nicklas Bendtner, Yaya Sanogo for example. Wenger signed them young, believed they had huge potentials, only to see them huff and puff their way out of the Emirates.
For every Viera, there has been an Emmanuel Frimpong and for every Bergkamp there has been a Francis Jeffers. With the transfer fever surrounding the fans in the January window, we at SoccerSouls, give you two of the best and the worst transfers that Wenger and Arsenal have made in the past decade:
BEST SIGNINGS
Mesut Ozil
The German playmaker arrived for a record fee of £42.5 million from Spanish giants Real Madrid ahead of the 2013-14 season and during his four years at the Emirates, he has gone onto etch himself in the annals of Arsenal history with some excellent displays.
While there have been constant clamours over his lack of work rate, there has never been any doubt over his talent and the impact he has had at the Emirates. Ozil is in his fourth spell at Arsenal and has featured 140 times for the Gunners scoring 29 goals. And having reached his 100th league appearance on Boxing day last year, the 28-year old has registered 36 assists in the English top-flight and that number is only bettered by Manchester United legend Eric Cantona who had notched up 39 assists in his first 100 league games.
After having enjoyed a stellar last season, which he finished with 19 assists and 9 goals, Ozil has started the ongoing campaign in an excellent form and has been scoring more frequently than ever before. With his contract negotiations not progressing as desired, Arsenal should do everything to tie him up for as long as they can.
Alexis Sanchez
Sanchez joined Arsenal from Barcelona a season after Ozil for a fee reported to be in the region of £35m and it did not take long for him to establish himself as the key man for the Gunners. An excellent first season saw the Chilean score 25 goals, including an absolutely marvelous goal in the FA Cup final.
The former Udinese man has continued to have a similar effect in the subsequent seasons for the Gunners and has already notched up 58 strikes in his 120 appearances in Arsenal colours. However, his emergence as a central striker this season has had a ravishing impact on Wenger’s team. Alexis has already notched up 16 goals this term, 14 of them coming in the league and looks to be all set to enjoy his best ever goal-scoring campaign.
His energy, his efforts and hard work and the aura of a leader that Alexis brings to the football field has been extremely vital for the North Londoners and they should do everything possible to extend his contract that is set to expire in the summer of 2018.