Five players that Arsenal never should have sold

Five players Arsenal should never have sold

By Alec McQuarrie

It’s transfer season and while most fans will be focusing on the names arriving at the Emirates, the outgoing list is of vital importance too.

Arsenal have seen more than its fair share of talented footballers leave through the exit doors over the years, some for better and some for worse. 

So here we look at the top five players that Arsenal should have kept hold of, in no particular order. 

Patrick Vieira 

Some would argue that since Vieira left Arsenal for Juventus in 2005 in a deal worth £13.75 million, no player has adequately replaced him at the heart of midfield. 

Nine successful years at Arsenal coincided with Arsène Wenger’s golden years at the club, after joining from AC Milan for £3.5 million in 1996. 

The then 20-year-old cited the incoming compatriot Wenger as one of the major reasons why he decided to make the move to North London. 

And the reason the colossal centre-midfielder gave for leaving after winning three Premier Leagues and four FA Cups was also to do with the French manager. 

Years later, when he was the New York City FC head coach, he said: “I was 29/30-years-old and 30-years-old in football you start to get old.

“You can see that the coach doesn’t trust you like he used to. That’s part of the game. 

 
“It’s difficult and I accept it because we had a young player called (Cesc) Fabregas who was coming through the academy, and he was doing really well.”

 
A key man in the Invincibles’ team and a member of the PFA Team of the Year for six successive seasons, Vieira surely had more to offer Arsenal in the autumn years of his career. 

Cesc Fabregas 

The shock of losing Vieira was tempered by the fact that Arsenal had a superstar waiting in the wings, one they signed from La Masia in 2003. 

The then 16-year-old didn’t take long to make an impression, becoming the club’s youngest ever senior player against Rotherham United in the League Cup. 

A few months later and he became the club’s youngest ever goalscorer, and even at his tender age Fabregas was tipped for great things.

 

His dazzling technique and world-class performances as a young player catapulted him to the role of Arsenal’s new talisman, picking up PFA Young Player of the Year in 2008, the same year he won the Euros with Spain. 

A captain by the age of 21, and a World Cup winner by the age of 24, the Spaniard hadn’t even reached his peak performance years when he returned to Barcelona in August 2011.

 

And despite Santi Carzola’s best efforts, Fabregas was a truly irreplaceable talent. 

Serge Gnabry 

The first name on the list who could potentially still make a move back to the Emirates is 26-year-old Serge Gnabry. 

The German made his professional debut for Arsenal as a teenager back in 2012, after signing from Stuttgart for just £100,000. 

His game time was limited at the Emirates, mainly confined to FA Cup games in the 2013-14 season, where his displays against Spurs and Coventry particularly impressive. 

His breakout season was followed by a serious knee injury and once he recovered more than a year later, West Brom took him on loan. 

Tony Pulis ruled the forward was “not at the required level” and only made a solitary Premier League appearance that season. 

A £5 million move to Werder Bremen in the summer beckoned and Gnabry’s time in Germany has been nothing short of spectacular. 

He has scored double figures in every one of the six Bundesliga seasons since his transfer, with 45 goals in 122 appearances in the German top flight, including winning Bayern Munich’s player of the season in 2018-19. 

The Champions League winner would surely have shown his talent for Mikel Arteta, and may still have the chance to at some point in the future. 

Robin Van Persie 

Robin Van Persie’s controversial exit in 2012 sparked friction between the elite goalscorer and Gunners everywhere. 

It was a slap in the face to everyone connected to the club, to join bitter rivals Manchester United for £22.5 million. 

His reasoning? A lack of silverware ever since he joined Arsenal in 2004 – an FA Cup in his first season the only meaningful trophy picked up. 

The striker was a reliable source of goals for the Gunners but really broke into his stride in his final two seasons in North London, scoring 18 and 30 goals respectively. 

His peak had arrived and Manchester United were the ones to benefit from his second Golden Boot, as they won a 20th Premier League title. 

With Manchester United’s grip on English football dramatically loosening just months later, Arsenal and Van Persie could have made a more serious challenge to be champions.  

Donyell Malen 

The most left-field shout on this list is in the form of young Netherlands international Donyell Malen. 

The 23-year-old was a member of the Arsenal youth teams from 2015-2017 and never made a senior appearance for the club. 

He was then sold as an 18-year-old to PSV Eindhoven for approximately £540,000, after scoring 27 times in 67 appearances in Arsenal’s academy. 

The multi-talented forward excelled at PSV, establishing himself as a one-in-two goalscorer who played a major role in chance creation too. 

His performances earned him a move to Borussia Dortmund last summer for £27 million, another example, alongside Gnabry, of letting a young prospect go too early, before they show their true potential. 

He has made 19 appearances for his national side and only time will tell whether he can propel himself to star-studded heights.

It’s transfer season and while most fans will be focusing on the names arriving at the Emirates, the outgoing list is of vital importance too. 

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