Arsenal Transfers: 10 Players Arsene Wenger Should Never Have Signed

9. Igors Stepanovs

Big centre-half Igors Stepanovs was signed as an understudy to legendary captain Tony Adams, costing £1.35 million from Skonto Riga in his homeland.

Looking in from the outside, it may not have appeared such a strange move. Arsenal simply required a new defender as cover, so they understandably bought a relatively cheap back-up player.

Problem was, a rather strange turn of events led to Stepanovs getting his Highbury gig, as revealed by ‘Romford Pele’ Ray Parlour in his autobiography.

According to Parlour, the Latvian stopper had been on trial at the club, and his upset team-mate Martin Keown would often play down any prospective defender’s talents when shutting down into self-preservation mode.

So, the Arsenal lads wound Keown up by applauding and cheering Stepanovs’ every move. Parlour and co knew he wasn’t up to scratch, but kept up the pretence anyway in front of the coaching staff, which backfired massively.

Boss Arsene Wenger listened intently to their faux praise and snapped him up on a four-year deal. One injury crisis later, and the new boy was thrust into a makeshift back-line at Old Trafford versus a rampant Manchester United.

Dwight Yorke tore them to shreds in a 6-1 battering of the North Londoners. A bedraggled Stepanovs hardly saw action again.