5 players who don't deserve to be at Arsenal anymore

It’s a bit harsh to label Arsenal as a club in crisis, but they’re certainly one in flux. While they currently sit 6th in the Premier League table, four losses before Christmas have probably put paid to any title hopes they may have had going into the season, and with star players Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil likely to abandon ship in the summer, the pressure is once again on Arsene Wenger.

The bottom line? Arsenal simply haven’t spent money wisely in recent seasons and for some reason, Wenger holds onto players, that other bosses would discard as dead wood, for way too long. If the Gunners ever want to challenge for the title again, they need to freshen their squad up – and they should start by getting rid of these 5 players who don't deserve a spot in the squad anymore:

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#5 Theo Walcott

Theo Walcott hasn't really lived up to his early potential

If it feels like ages since Walcott signed for Arsenal from Southampton as the most expensive teenager in British football history, well, that’s because it is. Wenger bought Walcott in back in 2006 – over a decade ago now – and he was expected to develop into one of the world’s most exciting players.

Unfortunately for all parties, that hasn’t really happened, despite a few flashes of absolute brilliance – his hat-trick for England against Croatia, his run to set up Emmanuel Adebayor in a Champions League tie with Liverpool – that showed why everyone was hyped for him to begin with.

Part of the problem with Walcott has always been the debate over which position he belongs in on the pitch. Originally a speedy winger, Walcott has often tried to push the idea that he could be Arsenal’s central striker; basically the same move that Thierry Henry made - one that turned him into a club legend and one of the best players in the world.

Sadly for Theo, he’s simply no Henry – well, either that, or Arsene Wenger simply doesn’t have the faith in him to let him try.

Injuries have hampered his progress at times, but for a man who fancies himself as a goalscorer, Walcott’s goal record just isn’t good enough – decent returns of 14 league goals in 2012/13 and 10 in 2016/17 have been surrounded by three poorer seasons that saw him score just 5.

With Alexandre Lacazette and Olivier Giroud ahead of him in the pecking order up front now, it’s probably time for Wenger to move Walcott on – if anything, it could turn out to be for the player’s own good, as at just 28, he still has time to develop, but only if he’s the focal point at a smaller club.

#4 Francis Coquelin

Francis Coquelin has been caught out one too many times

Once seen as a fine holding midfielder who could also cover in defence if needed, it’s become painfully clear over recent seasons that if Arsenal really want to make it back up to the top of the Premier League, Francis Coquelin probably isn’t good enough to warrant a starting spot.

Despite performing well at times and endearing himself to some of the Gunners fans with his spirit, he’s also come under a lot of criticism at times too.

The critics tend to point out that as a holding midfielder, Coquelin simply gets caught out too often, particularly by the higher-level teams. His tendency to over-stretch himself and lose possession in key areas has always been an issue, and he certainly isn’t the best creative talent as some of his dodgy through-balls would attest.

The likes of Charlie Nicholas have lambasted him as a squad player at best and simply not good enough for Arsenal, and some of the stats would back that up – such as his painful showing at Chelsea last season that saw him lose 6 tackles and win zero interceptions.

With the other top Premier League teams using top-class holding midfielders like Nemanja Matic, Fernandinho, Eric Dier and N’Golo Kante – and even lower teams in the league having great players in that position such as Nathaniel Chalobah – can Arsenal really afford to still be using Coquelin?

Probably not, and so it’s time for Wenger to move the Frenchman on and look for an upgrade in his position.

#3 Mathieu Debuchy

Mathieu Debuchy has rarely featured for the Gunners in recent times

It hardly comes as a surprise that Arsenal probably ought to consider moving Mathieu Debuchy on at this stage. After all, this is a player who signed for the club back in the summer of 2014, signing from Newcastle United as their new potential first-choice right-back.

Since then, however, it’s been an absolute disaster for the Frenchman. A litany of injuries have wrecked his Arsenal career and reduced him to a handful of appearances – just thirteen in the Premier League over the subsequent four seasons.

Granted, Debuchy spent half of the 2015/16 season on loan in his native France with Bordeaux, but even there, he failed to make an impact and only appeared a paltry 9 times.

Debuchy has actually started two games this season, but unsurprisingly neither of them were in the Premier League; one was in the Europa League and one the Carabao Cup – both competitions tend to be a chance for Arsene Wenger to use his fringe players, a group that Debuchy is certainly in now.

Given he turns 33 this summer, is there really any point in the Gunners hanging onto him any longer? At one stage he may have had the talent to play for Arsenal but at this point, with a long list of injuries behind him, that time has definitely passed.

Moreover, with Arsenal now deploying a three-man defence, it’s doubtful that a classical right-back like Debuchy would find his way back into the team anyway.

Why, then, do Arsenal still have him?

I’m honestly not sure.

#2 Alex Iwobi

Alex Iwobi has shown flashes of brilliance but has been inconsistent

Nigerian international Alex Iwobi – the nephew of the legendary Jay Jay Okocha – has been at Arsenal for years, having joined them when he was still at primary school. And when he exploded onto the scene back in 2015/16 – scoring two goals in his first two Premier League starts – it felt like Arsene Wenger had unearthed another possible rough diamond.

Two seasons down the line, though, and it’s quite clear that honestly, that probably isn’t the case.

Despite good form for his international side – he scored two goals for Nigeria in a friendly with Argentina this week – all he’s ever shown for Arsenal has been the odd flash of greatness alongside a lot more mediocrity.

Sure, at 21 he’s still young enough to improve his overall game, but he feels very much like another Theo Walcott – capable of greatness on his day, but most of the time he simply looks over-encumbered by some unknown issue.

Would it be worth Arsenal sticking with Iwobi? Possibly, given his young age, but then players of a similar age or younger such as Dele Alli, Tammy Abraham and Marcus Rashford are already lighting up the Premier League in a way Iwobi never has.

So it could be better for Arsenal to sell him now, preferably with a buy-back clause, and if he does really capture form in a more consistent way elsewhere, they could always buy him back.

#1 Jack Wilshere

A move away from Arsenal for Jack Wilshere could benefit both parties

Given the issues with Arsenal’s medical team – witness the nasty incident involving Santi Cazorla that’s been reported as of late – it could easily be argued that Arsenal actually don’t deserve the services of Jack Wilshere, not the other way around.

But then you can also make a point that Wilshere hasn’t helped himself over the years, as he’s been photographed on numerous occasions smoking, drinking and attending parties at nightclubs.

The fact is that despite being one of the most talented midfielders in the game, Wilshere just hasn’t lived up to his potential lately. It's unclear whether that’s down to a lack of match fitness – Wilshere always seems to pick up a serious injury just as he’s hitting form and always seems to be out for longer than initially hoped – or the fact that Arsene Wenger refuses to put his full faith in him, preferring the likes of Aaron Ramsey instead.

Wilshere was expected to be running Arsenal’s midfield at this stage of his career, but that just hasn’t been the case, and might never, either.

Arsenal already made an attempt to move Wilshere on last season, loaning him to Bournemouth and then offering him to other clubs during the summer, but he remains at the Emirates.

And at 25-years-old, he’s still relatively young – so from another club’s point of view, surely he’s worth taking the risk on? Away from the Emirates and away from Arsenal’s medical team, Wilshere could develop into the world-class midfielder he’s always threatened to become. And that could be England’s gain too.