Whether it’s an inability to perform based on some combination of environment, situation, formation, chemistry or attitude or some other factor that keeps them from being supported, there are some players that just never seemed able to win over their club fans.
Arsenal has certainly dealt with its share of players that fell in that department and following another slow start, it won’t be a surprise if at least a couple of their current players draw the ire of the fans. Time will tell if the Gunners can turn things around but for now, let’s take a look at the five Arsenal players that for one reason or another never won over the fans.
Julio Baptista
Baptista arrived from Spain in a double loan deal from Real Madrid with high expectations but 12 months later, the Gunners opted not to sign him permanently after he failed to adapt to the pace of the Premier League.
Baptista’s poise and ability to finish made him look like the perfect addition for Arsenal at the time but with the exception of one outstanding performance in which he scored four goals in the League Cup, his tenure with the club was largely considered a major disappointment. He just never fit in with Arsenal in terms of chemistry.
William Gallas
The idea that Gallas was doomed from the outset based on his past with Chelsea was understandable to a point but he certainly didn’t help his case with some terrible performances at Anfield. Gallas arrived at Arsenal in a swap for Ashley Cole and while it seemed at the time like a smart deal for the Gunners, it really didn’t work out as expected.
Gallas still managed to become captain the following year in an absolutely baffling decision by the club. Maybe they thought that giving him a leadership role would light a fire under him but that never transpired. After a disappointing tenure, Gallas would stick it to the Arsenal fans one last time by deciding to join Tottenham as his next club.
Mikael Silvestre
Silvestre is another player that seemed doomed from the outset after arriving at Anfield after playing for a rival of the Gunners. However, he also probably would have been given the benefit of the doubt had he performed better. Silvestre consistently struggled at Arsenal and rather than earning the support of the fans, he gave them reason to understand why Manchester United had decided to move on from him.
Park Chu-Young
The South Korean striker Park Chu-Young was close to being moved from Monaco to Lille when Arsene Wenger decided to scoop him up in one move that still to this day baffles Gunners fans. It didn’t take long for Young to become an afterthought at Arsenal where he was loaned out to Celta Vigo and then Watford shortly after his arrival.
In the few opportunities he did have to make an impact in the Premier League, he didn’t show anything that would help the fans understand why Wenger took a chance on him in the first place. It’s a head scratcher we’ll never know the answer to.
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Nicklas Bendtner
From the players that didn’t get the benefit of the doubt from the moment they arrived from rival teams to the players whose addition was largely confusing from the outset based on their prior performances, the majority of players on this list were in a tough spot from the very beginning. However, Bendtner doesn’t fall in either of those categories.
He was a product of the Arsenal academy that never was able to live up to expectations. The Gunners had always been high on Bendtnder’s potential after spending so many years committed to his development but he was never able to even come close to living up to expectations. The fact that he ultimately turned out to be a major bust was something that always stuck with the Arsenal fans.
