The worst swap-deal in history or “another Vardy” or Arsenal’s worst January signings

Arsenal, especially Arséne Wenger, was known for a great eye for player scouting. He often bought for low transfer sums. However, the North London club has not escaped transfer blunders either. In this article, we look at the five biggest oversights in the January transfer window.

Kim Källstrom headed to the Emirates Stadium in January 2014 from Spartak Moscow, when he was supposed to fill the gap left by injured midfielders. However, the six-month loan spell did not go to plan, with a back injury that was only supposed to last a few weeks stretching to almost three months. The Swedish midfielder only played in four games, but still helped win the FA Cup with a converted penalty.

Journalists have compared him to Jamie Vardy. Cohen Bramall, like the Leicester striker, only played semi-professional competitions and it didn’t take much for him to quit football. But the left-back caught the eye and signed for Arsenal at the age of 19.

The parallel with Vardy was born. But the similarities end quickly. He hasn’t played a single competitive game for the A-team and is currently at third-tier Lincoln.

Denis Suarez was to become the new face of Arsenal under Unaie Emery. His fundamentals were good, after all he was a product of La Masia, but it was not enough for a foundation at Arsenal. The Spanish midfielder only started six games in the 2018/19 season, also guilty of injury. However, he didn’t make his mark on the fans’ memory in terms of performance, game and productivity. Thus, the Gunners were not interested in a permanent buyout. Currently, Suarez plays for Celta Vigo.

If we look for the worst player swap between clubs, we will definitely remember the one from January 2018 on the Old Trafford – Emirates Stadium route. A written-off Henrikh Mkhitaryan and a disgruntled Alexis Sánchez. At the time, it was a successful ‘swap-deal’, Arsenal accommodated Sánchez, who didn’t want to sign a new contract, and Mourinho got rid of an unwanted player.

But neither were doing well in their new jobs, getting plenty of opportunities, but the game and the results were not coming. In a season and a half, the Armenian midfielder went on loan to AS Roma, which later turned into a transfer. And Arsenal’s record? 63 games, 9 goals and 13 assists.

Source: Transfermarkt