Defenders
Right-back
Nelson Vivas
In the right-back position, it is Argentine Nelson Vivas. The defender arrived with a lot of promise from Boca Juniors for £1.6m in 1998. He was signed to ease some pressure on the aging Lee Dixon and Nigel Winterburn but struggled to break into the starting XI.
He hardly made any impact at Highbury spending most of his time on the bench and eventually departed after his contract expired in 2001. His lowest point in an Arsenal jersey came when he missed from the spot in a penalty shootout against Middlesbrough as the Gunners were eliminated from the 1999-2000 League Cup.
Centre-back
Sebastian Squillaci
Sebastien Squillaci arrived at Arsenal for £3.2m in 2010 from Sevilla. "We needed a centre-back of quality and experience and at the right price - he was all of that", Wenger gushed. But the Frenchman failed to live up to his manager’s expectations with disappointing outings one after the other.
Soon he went down the pecking order, with Wenger bringing in Per Mertesacker the next season. His highly incompetent displays meant Squillaci made just 23 league appearances for the club over three seasons before joining French side Bastia for free.
Centre-back
Mikael Silvestre
Another Frenchman who disappointed in the centre-back position is Mikael Silvestre. Signed for a small fee of £750,000 from rivals Manchester United in 2008, there’s no doubt as to which party walked out happier of the two from this deal, as he turned out to be a terrible piece of business for the Gunners.
Silvestre arrived with plenty of Premier League experience with 5 winners medals with the Red Devils, but a series of clumsy performances meant he made only 26 appearances before departing in 2010. He was hapless in defence at times and made one wonder what was it that Wenger saw before bringing in a player that was clearly past his heydays.
Left-back
Andre Santos
You cannot have Wenger’s worst XI without left-back Andre Santos featuring in the line-up. The Brazilian, known for his pace, was susceptible at the back. He made marauding runs on the left-flank only to leave enormous space behind him which the opponents exploited mercilessly.
His lowest point as a Gunners’ player came when, after a dismal performance against Manchester United, he decided to swap shirts at half-time with Robin van Persie who had joined the Red Devils from Arsenal that season. The fans turned on him following that incident and he soon departed back to Brazil.
