10 Arsenal players who have left since 2014: where are they now?

Emirates Stadium
Emirates Stadium

Arsenal may seem a very different team since 2014. In fact, only 6 players have remained at the club since the Arsenal 2013/14 team photo. In this time, Arsenal have had a new manager come in, broke their transfer record 3 times, and they have won 5 trophies. These 10 players who have left the club since 2014 have had varying degrees of success. Some have gone on to greatness and others are now not very well known.

#10 Yaya Sanogo

Yaya Sanogo
Yaya Sanogo

Sanogo joined Arsenal in July of 2013, but the former golden boy nominee turned out to be not as special as Arsene Wenger thought. He only played 11 games for the Gunners before being released in 2017. He failed to make an impact after numerous loan moves to his name.

He did, however, once score 4 goals in a single game in a pre-season tournamenent for Arsenal, which of course meant that many joined the Yaya Sanogo hype train. Nothing came from it, and his only competitive goal for Arsenal came in a 2-0 win against Borussia Dortmund when he scored with a clever finish.

He now plays for Toulouse and has scored 6 goals in 28 appearances for the club. It seems that his career is far away from where many thought it would go. He has to be positive however, and try to make a name for himself.

At 25 years old he still has plenty of time to change and become a better player. He is the kind of player who I feel could one day turn out to be a top player. Players mature at different stages and I feel that later in his career he will develop into a World class striker.

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#9 Kieran Gibbs

Kieran Gibbs
Kieran Gibbs

Kieran Gibs used to be one of the most promising left backs in England in his early twenties but it did not all go to plan. The 29 year old played 137 times for Arsenal during his 10 year spell with the Gunners. He also used to be an England international, and has represented England on 10 occasions. However, he felt that after some new signings his chances at Arsenal would be limited so he joined West Brom.

He has so far been a success at West Brom, making 47 appearances in 1 and a half seasons. However, during his first season, West Brom were relegated, but it is fair to say that at 29 years old, he still has plenty of years ahead of him.

If all goes well, he has roughly 5 years left of his career. Who knows what he could do in that time? His priority should be to get West Brom back into the Premier League, or he should switch to a club in the Premier League.

#8 Gabriel Paulista

Valencia CF v FC Barcelona - La Liga
Valencia CF v FC Barcelona - La Liga

Gabriel Paulista joined Arsenal in January 2015. In total he played 46 times for the Gunners and scored 1 goal. He however, often sturggled to get regular first team minutes at the club, so he joined Valencia on the August 18, 2017. In his first season in Spain he turned out to be a hit with supporters, making 35 appearances in all competitions.

He has also started his La Liga season very well and has cemented his place in the starting line up. However, he does need to improve against big opposition such as Barcelona and Real Madrid, who in the past he has struggled with.

He has yet to make an appearance for the Brazilian national team and this needs to be a priority for him. With Thiago Silva getting old, this could be his chance make a name for himself in the Brazilian national team.

#7 Chuba Akpom

Chuba Akpom
Chuba Akpom

Akpom joined Arsenal at the age of 6 and looked like he would be a future star. He was a deadly goalscorer at a young age, but never managed to find the net during a first team game for the club.

After years of frustration and many loan moves to the likes of Hull City and Brighton Hove Albion, he left the club to join PAOK in the Greek 1st Division. It is unknown how much the deal was worth or if he was actually just released by Arsenal due to his lack of development in recent years.

This move has so far been a success for Akpom, with him now playing much more often. In the PAOK team he has even played in the Champions League, which was a rarity under Arsene Wenger.

I do not feel that at 23, he will be wanting to stay at PAOK for too long, though. I feel he will probably only stay at the club for a few seasons and then will try and attract the interest of a Premier League side. After all, at 23, he has a lot more to offer.

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#6 Francis Coquelin

Manchester United v Valencia - UEFA Champions League Group H
Manchester United v Valencia - UEFA Champions League Group H

Franis Coquelin played over 150 times for Arsenal during his ten year spell at the club after joining after a succesfull trial period with the club. He made good progress but struggled to find any good game time until the 2014/15 season when he started to make a name for himself.

Coquelin opted for a move to Charlton at the start of the 2014/15 season, but was recalled early after an injury crisis. After some impressive performances, he found himself securing a place in the starting line up for nearly the rest of the season. His hard work payed off and he was rewarded with getting to play the full 90 minutes in the FA Cup Final against Aston Villa.

However, during the 2017/18 season he felt that he was not getting enough game time, so he opted to leave the club and join Valencia during the January transfer window. Since then, Coquelin has been in impressive form and performed very well for the club.

#5 Santi Cazorla

Santi Cazorla
Santi Cazorla

Santi Cazorla joined Arsenal in 2012 from Malaga. His time at Arsenal was very successful, with the Spanish playmaker playing 129 times for the Gunners and scoring 25 goals along the way. At times he was unstoppable.

However, at the start of the 2016/17 season he injured his right Achilles tendon during a Champions League match. It was thought that he would be back sooner rather than later but instead he remained injured up until April of 2018 when he returned to training.

Arsenal did not extend his contract and he left the club to join his former club Villareal in Spain. This has been a great success for Cazorla and the 33 year old and has played regularly so far this season and has played very well.

#4 Theo Walcott

Theo Walcott
Theo Walcott

Theo Walcott joined Arsenal at the tender age of 16. He is the youngest ever player to play for England; - he made his debut aged 17 years and 75 days. This was before he had even played a competitive game for Arsenal, so this was something which at the time was seen as very controversial.

He looked set to become one of the best players in the world but due to some serious injury problems he never reached the heights that many thought he would. After scoring 108 goals in just under 400 appearances he decided to leave the club in the the 2018 Januay transfer window to join Everton.

He has made a real impact for the club and is getting regular playing time. Arsenal fans should be grateful for all the memories that he has provided. He may not have reached the heights that we all hoped, but he can be unstoppable when fully fit.

#3 Jack Wilshere

West Ham United v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Premier League
West Ham United v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Premier League

Jack Wilshere joined the club at the young age of 9 and he never looked back to some extent. He became the youngest ever player to play for Arsenal in the Premier League at the young age of 16 years and 256 days. Just like Walcott, he looked set to become a future star, but injuries meant that he never managed to reach his full potential.

He left the club at the end of the 2017/18 season after Unai Emery said that he would not be in his plans for the upcoming season. He now plays for West Ham and gets a lot of playing time, but he sadly will never be the player that he once was.

#2 Serge Gnabry

Serge Gnabry
Serge Gnabry

Serge Gnabry rose to fame during the 2013/14 season with Arsenal after some impressive performances. Some even said it would be likely that he would make the Germany World Cup squad. However, he picked up an injury against Bayern Munich, which damaged the remainder of his time at Arsenal.

He left to play in Germany, and he now plays for Bayern Munich. He is playing very well and the 23 year old is definitely a future star in the making.

#1 Alexis Sanchez

Manchester United v Crystal Palace - Premier League
Manchester United v Crystal Palace - Premier League

Alexis Sachez joined Arsenal in the summer of 2014 after some impressive performances at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He did not disappoint. He scored 60 goals in 122 games for the Gunners and became a fan favourite.

In his last full season with the club, he scored a vital goal in the FA Cup Final in the 2-1 win against Chelsea. There were many times during his Arsenal career that he saved them from embarrassment.

However, after Arsenal failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the 2017/18 season, he expressed his desire to leave the club. He left Arsenal in January to join Manchester United.

Things have not gone very well for him at Man United, and some feel he may rejoin the Gunners if the right offer comes his way. Others argue that he is past his best and it is not surprising that he is not playing well.

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Edited by Gabby Duran