The 9 players Arsenal signed alongside Mikel Arteta in 2011

The Summer of 2011 was a busy time for Arsenal concerning the transfers and signing of players before the beginning of the season. Arsene Wenger and the board had a rush going around in the camp.

In 2011, Apart from 9 players that were signed, one such was the 39-year-old, Mikel Arteta. He has been remembered to be a part of one of the best years that the Gunners have had.

The Gunners splashed £10million on Mikel and he was a regular for his first three seasons at the Emirates, lifting back-to-back FA Cups as club captain in 2014 and 2015.

However, now that he’s in the managerial field, it’s safe to call him a former player for the Gunners, let’s have a look at the other nine players.

Carl Jenkinson

Carl has been one of the dream success stories when he was a part of the Charlton Academy. After just nine appearances with the Addicks, Arsenal had roped him in 2011 for an undisclosed fee thought to be around £1 million.

Recurring injuries prevented the defender from attaining his full potential on the field. He was a player with great potential but was helpless due to his unavoidable circumstances.

However, a successful 2014-15 season with West Ham on loan helped him get back and running before he was hit with a cruel blow in the form of an ACL following a clash with Sergio Aguero.

Following that, he joined Nottingham Forest in 2019.

Jon Toral

Jon was one of two signings from Barcelona 10 years ago. However, with his presence in the club, he didn’t make a stronger impact than the other Barcelona players.

He never got a proper chance in the club as he never made a first-team appearance for the Gunners.

He rather found himself to be loaned out to Brentford, Birmingham, Granada and Rangers before signing with Hull in 2017. This summer saw him sign for the Greek side OFI, based on the island of Crete. Likely a nicer place to play than Hull.

Hector Bellerin

He started his career early on with Barcelona before he shifted to Arsenal back in 2011. He scored 8 goals in a total of 183 appearances for the Gunners.

He made his competitive debut on 25th September 2013 against West Bromwich in a penalty shootout victory after a 1–1 draw. Bellerín joined Championship club Watford, two months later on a two-month loan deal, and made his debut against Yeovil Town eight days after he signed with them.

However, a disastrous ACL in a clash with Chelsea in January 2019 ruled him out for nine months. Bellerin was meant to make a stronger comeback but that wasn’t the case later.

Per Mertesacker

Per is the current manager of the Arsenal Academy and he has currently been around the managerial field.

On 31 August 2011, Arsenal confirmed they had signed Mertesacker on a four-year contract, right after the club’s tormenting loss against Manchester United. He was presented with the number 4 jersey, previously worn by former captain Cesc Fàbregas.

In his 7 year stint with Arsenal, he made a total of 221 appearances and belted 10 goals. He wasn’t the fastest of the lot but that didn’t stop him from being a crucial part of the Gunners that regained their ability to win trophies.

Gervinho

The pacy Gervinho was snapped in by the Gunners back in from Lille for a whopping £10.7 Million. However, it wasn’t one of the greatest stints as the Ivory Coast international left just two years later and looks back to it with nothing but regret.

He had mentioned him regretting leaving the club he loved early as he never got to prove how good he was. However, he was grateful to have worked with Wenger.

In his 46 appearances for Arsenal, he scored 9 goals in total.

Park Chu-young

The South Korean was adjudged as one of the most bizarre signings ever done by the Gunners. After learning of Wenger’s interest, Park departed his hotel room without finishing a medical with the Ligue 1 club Lille, and the Gunners eventually gave him the No.9 shirt.

He just made seven appearances for the club with just one goal under his belt. His flop at Arsenal with a string of poor performances resulted in him failing to make the first team.

On June 30, 2014, he was released by a free transfer. Daily Telegraph reporter John Duerden would compare Park’s move to Arsenal as “the worst call to answer since Colin Farrell picked up a New York public phone in Phone Booth and endured a few hours of misery.”

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

The 27-year-old was roped in by Arsenal in 2011 after they spent a whopping £12million on the exciting Southampton talent, despite him having not played above League One at the time. From 2011-17, he made a total of 198 appearances for the Gunners with 20 goals to his name.

His six-year stint at the club helped the Gunners to three FA Cups and put in an exceptional semi-final display against Manchester City in 2017.

What hurt the most was him winning the Champions League and Premier League with Liverpool later on.

Andre Santos

In 33 appearances for Arsenal, Andre had bagged just 3 goals under his belt. On 31 August 2011, André Santos signed for Arsenal on a long-term contract, Fenerbahçe SK announced the fee was €7 million.

He performed well on occasions and was a promising player. However, one bad incident during a game against Manchester United brought him a lot of criticism. He swapped shirts with ex-Gunner captain Robin van Persie at half-time.

Three months following the unfortunate incident, he was loaned out to Gremio. Spells in India, Switzerland and a return to Turkey followed, but the left-back is now a free agent.

Joel Campbell

It was a rather weird signing for Arsenal in 2011. Joel had joined the club officially in 2011 but it was not until 2013 that he gained a work permit.

Following that, he went round & round on loan to Lorient, Real Betis and Olympiacos before an impressive 2014 World Cup campaign persuaded Wenger to give the player a shot in the first team in 2014-15. However, he made just four appearances in the season that followed.

Luck wasn’t favouring his side as the 2015-16 campaign brought 30 appearances, but he couldn’t produce magic with his feet and couldn’t ignite his career with the Gunners.

Three more loans around Spain and Portugal followed before Italian side Frosinone signed him permanently.

In all totality, he played 40 games for Arsenal with 4 goals in all. Averaging a goal per 10 games.

Also Read: Manchester United top goalscorer from every Premier League season