Arsenal has developed a reputation for being one of the few big teams that give youngsters and academy players chances to shine.
In the past, the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor, Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie have been given chances to build careers for themselves.
But there are others who have wasted their chances at Arsenal, here are some:
Emmanuel Frimpong
Frimpong spent more than 10 years at Arsenal and when he broke into the first team, it looked like he was going to be Arsenal’s replacement for Patrick Vieira.
Poor discipline and a lack of progress forced Arsenal to cut their losses on him. He retired last year after a journeyman career.
Jack Wilshere
Jack Wilshere is currently playing for West Ham in the Premier League, some people may say that he has had a good career, but the truth remains that injuries reduced his potential and he is one player that we had high hopes for.
Francis Coquelin
Coquelin is still playing at Valencia, but the Frenchman won’t be remembered fondly at the Emirates despite starting his career against Manchester United.
Coquelin was another attempt by Arsene Wenger to replace Patrick Vieira but it went bad and he struggled for consistency, he hasn’t been missed.
Fran Merida
Merida, just like Cesc Fabregas was yanked out of Barcelona as a teenager and Arsenal had high hopes that he would flourish like his compatriot.
However, he failed to make the grade and played just six games for the Gunners before making a permanent move to Atletico Madrid.
Henry Lansbury
Lansbury spent five years in the Arsenal squad but he still made just three first-team appearances for the Gunners.
He was sent out on loan to several clubs yet he didn’t convince Arsenal to keep him on and he is currently struggling for game time at Aston Villa.
It’s clear that the writer of this article knows nothing about football. Coquelin wasn’t a flop. The best central midfield combination we had after the invincible that won us the FA cup was Coquelin/ cazorla. After cazorla got injured, he was drop from the starting eleven.moreso blame all the destroyed talents in arsenal on arsenal we get and not the players themselves due to miss management of players getting injured and his training method that exposed the players to injury.
Ola, If you care to get your facts right, the article did NOT say Coquelin was a flop. Those were your words and not what he said. He said “it went bad and he struggled for consistency”. That is a corrct summation and common to many players who are useful for a while but who do not ultimately make a huge success of their career. But that is DIFFERENT from being a flop, or IS, is you properly understand the nuances in our rich English language. IT SEEMS THAT YOU DO NOT !
Jermaine Pennant?
What about that brazilian boy who was meant to replace Golberto
Denilson, never made it with us
What about the one touted as Bergkamp’s natural successor?
Wilshere had loads of talent
The wrong attitude at times but still gifted
I’m sorry that his career faded as it did. Injuries took their toll and he is still in his prime aged 28
Diaby of course.