10 Players Who Probably Regretted Joining Arsenal

4. Richard Wright (2001-02)

If the aforementioned Francis Jeffers wasn€'t enough to convince Arsene Wenger to source new players from the continent rather than England, then paying £6 million for Richard Wright must surely have done it. When Wright left Ipswich for the Gunners in 2001, expectations of the 23-year-old keeper were high, and it was widely believed that Wright had been hand-picked by Wenger to be David Seaman€'s replacement.

In his 22 appearances in an Arsenal shirt, it became pretty clear that all that expectation wasn't going to be fulfilled. Wright was thoroughly inconsistent, capable of saving a howitzer of a shot one minute while somehow managing to punch the ball into his own net the next.

Before long Wright, had slipped to third in the 'keepers' pecking order, behind even youth goalkeeper Stuart Taylor. It was obvious that he wasn€'t happy at Arsenal and Arsenal weren't happy with him, so he was shipped off to Everton where a chain of injuries and a complete loss of confidence meant that he became the alternative goalie. On one occasion, he injured himself tripping over a sign warning against training in the area due to potential injuries. It was his career in microcosm.

Nevertheless, Wright plugged away, and a second, broadly successful spell at Ipswich somehow saw him wind up in the reserves of moneybags Man City. He fulfilled his backup role perfectly, making zero appearances in four years.