6. Ignoring British Players
Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP/Press Association ImagesBack in 2006, Arsene Wenger received criticism for ignoring British players. In a Champions League game with Real Madrid that year, Wenger played a starting XI consisting entirely of foreigners, and it had quickly become apparent that in the 10 years he had been at the club at the time, he cared very little about player's nationalities.
He even once said:
"I try to choose the best player and I think my pride in my career is not to have chosen someone because of his passport."
However, Wenger's reliability on foreign players cost him. It seemed as though a lot of the stars he had imported from across Europe were more inclined to leave the club the second a better offer came in, with the likes of Emmanuel Adebayor, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy having their heads turned by the money at Manchester City. It is only relatively recently that Wenger has started to invest his faith in British talent, with his squad today consisting of the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (above), Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey. These group of players who grew up either supporting Arsenal or watching them play are much more likely to stick around for longer, and Wenger's inability to realise this resulted in instability at the club between 2005-12.