Arsenal's 6 worst January transfers including Barcelona star and next Invincible
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta remains keen on adding to his squad in January as the Gunners attempt to continue their challenge for the Premier League title.
The likes of Mykhaylo Mudryk, Memphis Depay and Eden Hazard have all been linked with moves to the Emirates Stadium over the past few days although it remains to be seen if the North Londoners can complete deals for any of the three. Arteta might look back to the past before he decides to spend heavily in the winter window though.
Whilst the likes of Theo Walcott, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Martin Odegaard have all been welcomed to the club since the window was introduced, there have also been a few missteps from the Gunners.
Take a look at the best - or worst - of them below:
Guillaume Warmuz (January 2003)
One of Arsenal ’s first-ever January signings, French goalkeeper Warmuz arrived at Arsenal as a Ligue 1 and Coupe de La Ligue winner having enjoyed a lengthy spell with Lens. Available as a free agent, the Gunners swooped for his services in the January window as they attempted to find a replacement for the injured Rami Shaaban.
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The stopper would leave after just six months having failed to make an appearance for the Gunners. He then sealed a move to Borussia Dortmund to ironically replace Jens Lehmann with the German on his way to becoming an Arsenal player.
Warmuz only saves himself from going down as Arsenal’s worst winter signing due to the fact that the Gunners did not actually pay anything for him.
Guillaume Warmuz never appeared for Arsenal before a move to Borussia Dortmund (Getty Images)Who do you think has been Arsenal's worst-ever signing? Share your thoughts in the comments below
Ryo Miyaichi (January 2011)
Surprisingly, Arsenal’s record in the transfer market in the early 2000s was relatively good although that all stopped with the arrival of Japan international Ryo Miyaichi. Big things were expected of the forward after he put pen to paper on a contract with the club after catching the eye of Arsene Wenger during a trial.
He was sent out on four consecutive loan spells as the Gunners struggled to get him a work permit. After just seven outings and zero goals, Miyaichi left to join German side St Pauli and now finds himself back in Japan.
Now at the age of 30, he has yet to make 200 senior appearances.
Thomas Eisfeld (January 2012)
Initially a youth signing, former German youngster Eisfield arrived at the Emirates Stadium in the closing hours of the 2012 January transfer window. Again, Wenger predicted big things of the former Borussia Dortmund trainee having described him as a quiterer version of Gunners Invincibles legend Robert Pires.
Speaking at the time, the Frenchman said: "He is a Pires type. He appears to be in the box without being noisy and appearing suddenly. When he is there, he finishes well.”
He made just two senior appearances for Arsenal but did manage to get on the scoresheet against West Brom. Eisfeld was allowed to depart permanently just a year later in a move to Fulham.
Thomas Eisfeld was afforded just two Arsenal appearances (Getty Images)Kim Kallstrom (January 2014)
Ah, Kim Kallstrom - what could have been? After impressive spells with Rennes, Lyon and Spartak Moscow, the Gunners elected to move for the Sweden international on-loan until the end of the campaign.
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The only problem was that Kallstrom was recovering from a back injury - a problem that was noted during his medical. Arsenal continued to press on with the deal and Kallstrom ended up making just four appearances for the Gunners before exiting.
He did however make a substitute appearance in an FA Cup semi final win against Wigan Athletic, an outing he said was “the greatest 15 minutes of my life”. Right…
Henrikh Mkhitaryan (January 2018)
Despite a hugely disappointing spell with Premier League rivals Manchester United, Arsenal thought the solution to their problems was Armenian playmaker Mkhitaryan. He arrived from Old Trafford with Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez went the other way.
Infamously, the deal worked out disastrously for both clubs. Mkhitaryan struggled for consistency during his 18 months with Arsenal, scoring just eight Premier League goals. He was allowed to join Roma on a season-long loan deal and enjoyed a far better time of things in Italy.
He remains in Serie A having made a move to Inter Milan in the summer.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan was a disastrous signing for Arsenal (Getty Images)Denis Suarez (January 2019)
Another six-month loan spell hampered by injury issues, you see where this one’s going don’t you? One-time Spanish international Denis Suarez joined the Gunners in the 2019 January transfer window from Barcelona.
He made just six appearances for the North London side though with injury hugely limiting his contributions for Unai Emery’s side. He played in a grand total of 96 minutes for the club - the equivalent of just one full match.
It goes without saying that Arsenal chose not to make the move permanent and has since gone on to move to Celta Vigo.
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