10 Arsenal Players Who Weren't Worth The Hassle
4. Francis Jeffers
Francis Jeffers is 33 years old and is currently without a club, having recently failed a trial at League Two side Bury. The Fox in the Box has played for 11 different clubs, including a brief spell in Malta. One would think that he would have envisaged a slightly different career trajectory when he signed for Arsenal in an £8 million deal 13 years ago.
Scoring 18 league goals in three seasons at Everton, it has taken him over 12 years to double his career goal tally, so it goes without saying that he didnt quite make it at a goal-hungry Arsenal side in the early 00s. At the time, he was one of the clubs most expensive signings, and with it came a heap of pressure placed on the shoulders of the 20 year old.
In total, he made 22 league appearances for the Gunners, and found the back of the net on just four occasions, as his lack of ability to cut it at the top was quickly found out. From there, his problems only exacerbated as a loan spell at former club Everton produced no goals in Everton, setting the precedent for a horrifically incompetent footballing career.
Wenger is so usually so adept at plucking youth and moulding them into superstars, but on this occasion, it was better to have left the wallet in the bedside drawer, and ignored the Evertonian. For if they had waited just one more year, the Toffees would have been flaunting a new teenage starlet, who would just happen to announce himself to the world with a 25 yard wonder-goal against the Gunners.