It’s hard to complain when you receive something for free but it would be difficult to criticise anyone for thinking that these free Arsenal transfers were still a waste of money.
Through a combination of injuries, bad luck or simply not making the grade, it’s hard to find any real positive in some of the signings Arsene Wenger made through the free transfer market but there are plenty to be found at the Andar Bahar at Bollywood.
With that in mind, let’s relive some moments when Wenger was pictured with a signing for free when we wished he hadn’t bothered.
Arsene Wenger’s 5 most dubious free Arsenal transfers
Arturo Lupoli
Lupoli, the young Italian striker from Brescia, was hot property when he signed as a free Arsenal transfer in 2004 from his maiden club Parma.
At youth level, Lupoli was prolific, scoring two goals per game at under-17 level. He was a potent finisher who excelled inside the box. At the end of his contract with Parma, he refused to sign an extension allowing Arsenal to swoop in and claim the treasured teenager.
The Italian striker continued his development where he left off at Parma, scoring for fun with Arsenal’s youth. He struck up a strong partnership with Nicklas Bentdner and gained commendation for his performances in the League Cup in the 2005-06 season.
However, Lupoli struggled to maintain his high level of performance and left on loan to Derby. Despite a lack of goals at Championship level, Lupoli earned himself a permanent deal at Fiorentina at the end of his Arsenal contract.
Although there was promise the whole way throughout his Arsenal career, the youngster failed to make the step up to the senior level.
Whilst there have been many transfers in the past that I think Wenger may have regretted, I believe this one was always worth a punt.
Lupoli retired in the summer with barely a mention and if you’d like a deeper look at his career, read this.
Amaury Bischoff
In 2008, Amaury Bischoff arrived in North London to confused and puzzled fans.
Despite having made only one appearance for Werder Bremen by the age of 21, Wenger deemed the free transfer a suitable enough risk.
Bischoff was viewed as an excellent ball-playing midfielder with a good range of passing and a mature head. However, it was believed that his progress had been hampered by two surgeries on his groin.
Despite the surgeries, Wenger was still willing to take a chance on the German midfielder.
Bischoff made a few appearances for the reserves before being granted playing time in the League Cup with the first team.
He made one singular appearance in the Premier League, coming off the bench in a 3-0 win at Portsmouth.
Having failed to establish himself in the first team squad, the club opted not to renew his contract at the end of the season.
Mathieu Flamini
In the summer of 2008, Arsenal fans were saddened to hear the news that the club were unable to convince Mathieu Flamini to renew his contract with the Gunners.
The versatile centre midfielder, after an excellent season for Arsenal, confirmed that he would be signing with AC Milan for the following season.
However, that was not to be the last time Arsenal fans would see Flamini in an Arsenal shirt.
In 2013, Flamini returned to Arsenal on a free transfer from Milan.
He was Arsenal’s second signing of the summer window after Yaya Sanogo (more on him later).
Although his combative style was a welcome attribute in the early months of the season, Flamini did little of note to help the Arsenal cause.
On occasion, he was a useful player but too frequently he was paired with Francis Coquelin or Mikel Arteta in a midfield duo that seemed blunt and out-dated.
He remained a squad player until 2016 and for many fans was symbolic of the rot that had started to set in at Arsenal.
Through no real fault of his own, Arsenal were signing players deemed below the required pedigree and he had become the poster boy for said signings.
Sol Campbell
It’s difficult for a player to achieve the honour of being in the top 5 free transfer signings and the worst 5 free transfer signings at the same time.
However, the burden of such an award rests on Sol’s broad shoulders.
Despite all the great work he did with the club in his first stint, re-signing Sol Campbell in 2010 was unadvisable.
At the age of 35, Campbell had lost much of what made him such a fantastic player.
He was still able to read the game incredibly well but like the other great Premier League defenders: Terry, Ferdinand and Vidic, his body just couldn’t do what his mind was telling him.
Whilst he did prove to be somewhat useful in the remaining months of the season, his second stint at the club dampened the memories of the great player that he was.
Yaya Sanogo
And so we come to Yaya Sanogo as our final free Arsenal transfer.
There is no great shame in an unproven youngster with a track record of injuries failing to live up to his potential.
But it was the lack of an alternative that really proved frustrating for Arsenal.
Arsenal began the 2013 season with three senior strikers: Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud and Nicklas Bendtner.
The general feeling amongst the fans was that the club needed another striker following the loss of Robin van Persie the previous season in order to truly challenge for the title.
Sanogo went on to make a miserable 11 competitive appearances for Arsenal before a variety of loan spells, both abroad and in England.
His playing career was constantly dogged by injuries and he finally left Arsenal in 2017 after a thoroughly underwhelming four years at the club with little in terms of goals or minutes to show for his time.
He has been without a club since July 2021.