5 players whose careers dipped after joining Arsenal

Shkodran Mustafi is one of several players whose careers dipped after joining Arsenal.
Shkodran Mustafi is one of several players whose careers dipped after joining Arsenal.

#3 Denilson

Denilson
Denilson

Denilson's signing was one that shocked a lot of Arsenal fans. The Brazilian midfielder was an unknown entity when he arrived at north London. Arsene Wenger famously described Denilson as 'a little bit in between Tomaš Rosicky and Gilberto".

Denilson, though, had a strong start to life at Arsenal. He peaked during the 2008-09 season, becoming a key player for the team as he made 51 appearances in all competitions that campaign.

However, the emergence of the likes of Jack Wilshere, Samir Nasri and Alex Song saw Denilson fall down the pecking order. The Brazilian was eventually loaned out to Sao Paulo before he joined them on a free transfer in 2013.

Denilson's career failed to take off after he left Arsenal, though. He is currently plying his trade at Maltese Premier League side Sliema Wanderers.


#2 Marouane Chamakh

Marouane Chamakh
Marouane Chamakh

Arsenal signed Marouane Chamakh on a free transfer in the summer of 2010. But the Moroccan striker was never able to cope with the demands of the Premier League, as he managed to score just 11 goals in 44 appearances in all competitions in his first campaign with the club.

Chamakh followed that up with only three goals in his next one-and-a-half years at Arsenal before he was loaned out to West Ham. But the Moroccan failed to rejuvenate his career with the Hammers and was sold to Crystal Palace in 2013.

Marouane Chamakh spent three seasons at Crystal Palace but scored only ten goals in 66 appearances before calling time on his career while at Cardiff City.


#1 Mesut Ozil

Mesut Ozil
Mesut Ozil

Mesut Ozil's inclusion in this list is likely to surprise a few. That's because the German enjoyed a fairly decent campaign at the club before falling out of favour later on.

Ozil was signed by Arsenal in 2013 from Real Madrid for £42.5 million, a then club-record fee. He was one of the world's best attacking midfielders during his time at Real Madrid. Ozil had formed a formidable partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo during his time at the Spanish giants.

After arriving in north London, Mesut Ozil won three FA Cup titles and helped end Arsenal's nine-year trophy drought. He also provided 19 assists in a Premier League season, the second-most of all time.

However, despite showing glimpses of his brilliance, Ozil was highly inconsistent during his seven-season stint with the Gunners.

The German was often criticised for his lack of physicality, work rate and general inability to come to the fore against the top teams.

Ozil's time at Arsenal came to a bitter end as he was frozen out of the first team by Mikel Arteta during his last six months with the club.

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