#3 Park Chu-Young
Strongly rumoured to have been signed for commercial reasons, even his most ardent followers doubted whether Park Chu-Young, despite all his qualities, possessed the calibre to feature for a European giant like Arsenal. One of Asia's biggest footballing names at the time, the news of the South Korean captain's signing was, however, greeted with incredulity and cheer by the club's Asian fanbase.
A goal against Bolton in the Carling Cup aside, Park hardly ever got so much as a sniff at first team opportunities. After seven minutes of Premier League action in his first six months followed by a string of disjointed loan spells at various clubs, Park finally returned home to South Korea-based FC Seoul. Disillusioned by life in Europe, he had finally decided something had to give way if he was to remain in the national team.
His entire career at Arsenal begs the question – why did Wenger sign him at all, if it was only to ship him away without even being considered as a decent squad option?
