View From The Sphere

The TEN Arsenal ‘wonderkids’ who promised much but delivered little

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Jeremie Aliadiere

The French striker signed for Arsenal at the age of 16 and was considered as a highly promising prospect for the future. The head coach of the highly renowned Clairefontaine academy in France, Claude Dusseau stated that along with Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka, Aliadiere was amongst the best strikers to come out of the academy in the past 10 years. His talent was noticeable and displayed some promising performances during his time in North London. Unfortunately, injury problems did hamper the forward’s development, and as such, was mainly used as a substitute. During his 6 year spell at Arsenal, the striker managed to appear 51 times for the Gunners (32 of which he came off the bench) and netted 11 goals in all competitions. Could have been a real star for the club, but injury problems certainly hampered his progress. Currently, the Frenchman is still a free agent after deciding not to renew his contract with Middlesbrough at the end of last season.

Jermaine Pennant

Jermaine Pennant signed for Arsenal in 1999 from Notts County for £2 million (a record fee for a trainee at the time) at just the age of 15. Fans certainly expected the youngster to shine and excel for the fee Wenger paid for him. However, Pennant was certainly a player who promised so much but in fact delivered very little in his time in North London. The Englishman never settled in North London and this was clearly evident as the winger was sent out on-loan throughout the majority of his Arsenal career, rather than playing for the Gunners. Whilst wearing the cannon on his chest, Pennant only managed to make a total of 25 appearances for the Gunners and bagged a mere 3 goals. A lot was expected, but unsettlement and a bad disciplinary record saw the winger leave Arsenal for yet another loan deal to Birmingham City in 2004. During his loan spell at the club, Pennant decided to sign permanently for the Blues in April 2005 on a free. However in 2009 after passing a medical, Pennant signed a three-year deal with Primera Liga side Real Zaragoza where he has made 25 appearances so far. The winger is currently on a 4 month loan period with Premier League side Stoke City.

Justin Hoyte

Justin Hoyte was another promising player for Arsenal, yet the defender turned out to be not as good as everyone made out to be. Hoyte was with Arsenal from the age of 9 and worked his way up through the academy system from 1993 to 2003. In 2003 he was promoted to the senior squad where he managed to notch up a total of 68 appearances (most of which were when he came off the bench) and score 1 goal for the club. The defender was thought to be a good replacement for Lee Dixon, but once again we were fooled. Hoyte was not capable of playing in the top-flight of the English game and looked out of place when he did play for the Gunners. The full-back had a promising future for Arsenal, but truthfully failed to deliver when he was given his chance in the first-team. He was sent out on-loan to Sunderland in 2005 and was eventually sold to Middlesbrough in 2008 for an estimated £3 million deal. Another youngster who failed to make the grade at Arsenal.

Philippe Senderos

The Swiss defender had huge prospect and promise when he signed for Arsenal in 2002. Though, Senderos came to the North London club officially in 2003, many predicted that the 6’ 3’’ strong defender was the ideal replacement for Mr. Arsenal himself Tony Adams, sadly we were all mistaken. A lot of bad and clumsy performances by Senderos in the latter part of his Arsenal career led us to believe if this man could defend at all. Senderos really struggled to get to grips with the physicality and speed of the Premier League as he got older and was bullied by Didier Drogba every season when Arsenal and Chelsea met. He looked to be a good defender when he first arrived, but confidence and some stupid errors mistook all of us, maybe even Wenger. His 7 year spell at Arsenal came to an end in June 2010 after signing for Fulham on a free.

Click here to see the last 3 players who made the list

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