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Unai Emery ended his first season in charge of Arsenal with a fifth placed finish in the Premier League and ended up as runners-up in the Europa League. Players such as Shkodran Mustafi, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Mesut Ozil disappointed him towards the end of the season. They failed to live up to their respective reputations, and that has resulted in Arsenal's impending absence from Champions League football next season.
Far from his usual standard, Ozil only managed 6 goals and 3 assists in 35 games this season. Last time around, the German scored five times and laid 14 assists in the same number of appearances. Surely, if Ozil had stepped up, Arsenal could have done much better this season.
As Arsene Wenger's tenure at the club drew to a closure, a couple of key Arsenal players left the club in the winter and summer transfer windows in 2018. Out of the players who departed the club, three of them could still have been influential for the Gunners if they had stayed.
However, they are no longer with the club. Here is a look at the three of them who should not have left the Gunners.
#3 Alexis Sanchez
The Chilean left Arsenal in January 2018 after refusing to extend his contract. After joining Arsenal in 2014, Sanchez quickly became a fan favourite with his impressive performances. The forward was frequently at the heart of Arsenal's attack. Unfortunately, even with him, the Gunners could not lift the Premier League trophy. Soon after, he wanted to head to a bigger club when he could win more trophies.
Sanchez made 166 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal, scoring 80 goals and providing 45 assists. In his first season at the club, the 30-year-old also won Arsenal's Player of the Year award. Together with Mesut Ozil, the duo were at the prime of their careers.
Since the left-winger left for Manchester United, Ozil and Sanchez have suffered pretty miserable fates. The German midfielder no long puts up consistent performances and more often than not, he fails to exert his dominance. At times, Ozil is even thought of as a liability to the team.
Similarly, the Chilean may be earning a high salary, but United fans are not impressed with him. He loses possession far too often for fans' liking and the past season alone, he managed just two goals in 27 appearances. Often appearing as a substitute, Sanchez has a passing accuracy of just 74.6% and completed only 0.4 dribbles per game this season. Previously, he managed to dribble past players at least 2.1 times each time when he played for the Gunners.
Had Sanchez stayed, he and Ozil might have continued their incredible partnership at Arsenal. Now that the duo has split, their fortunes have not been great either.
#2 Olivier Giroud
Olivier Giroud was another player who left Arsenal in January 2018. The Frenchman left the North London club in search of more consistent game time so that he would not lose his spot in Didier Deschamps' World Cup squad. Alexandre Lacazette had signed for the Gunners that season, and started to replace Giroud in the starting eleven, and he shifted to join Chelsea in a deal worth £18 million.
As much as the centre-forward was proficient in scoring headed goals, he did not have the attributes of a top-class striker that Arsenal fans had envisioned. The fans wanted someone like Robin van Persie who could run fast and was capable of scoring goals by himself. Unfortunately, Giroud was not that kind of player.
When Chelsea and Arsenal met in the Europa League final, Giroud was a decisive player in the Blues' victory. His opener affected Arsenal's confidence in the game and helped his side to a comfortable victory.
Arsenal lost Danny Welbeck in November 2018 and since then, they have been reliant solely on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette to score goals. If the 32-year-old did not leave Emirates, he would have provided another attacking option on the bench which could have bolstered Arsenal's attack. Letting Giroud leave the club was surely one of the worst decisions in 2018.
#1 Wojciech Szczęsny
Perhaps Wojciech Szczęsny should never have left Arsenal. When the Polish international was caught smoking in January 2015, Arsene Wenger made the decision to drop him to the bench and promote David Ospina to the starting eleven. After the end of the 2014/15 season, Wenger signed Petr Cech from Chelsea and it appeared that manager never regained confidence in Szczęsny.
Following Cech's arrival, Szczęsny was sent out on loan to Roma. The goalkeeper spent two seasons on loan in Serie A. Regardless of how bad Arsenal's goalkeeping situation had been, Szczęsny never returned. During his time with the Gunners, he kept 72 clean sheets in 181 appearances. Meanwhile, Cech endured a poorer record with 50 clean sheets in 139 games.
Now, the Juventus goalkeeper has gone on to prove that he can be a reliable shot-stopper and capable of playing on a big stage. Cech had struggled to live up to the standards he once enjoyed when he played for Chelsea, while Ospina seemed too unreliable for the fans' liking. If Szczęsny had stayed on, Arsenal might not have needed to sign Bernd Leno. The Gunners could have groomed the Pole to become one of the best keepers in the world.
