Five failed Arsenal ‘golden boys’

There are few things that tug a football fan’s heartstrings quite like the chrysalis from young player to club icon. One only needs to cast a glance across north London to glimpse the sort of fawning appreciation Harry Kane is getting for confirmation. Arsenal’s folklore is likewise coloured by stories of young players raised from mere pups to club legends. Tony Adams, David Rocastle, Liam Brady, names that trip off of the Arsenal tongue.

One can but hope that the likes of Jack Wilshere, Chuba Akpom and maybe even Héctor Bellerin can join these erstwhile club colossi. However, our appetite to appraise the young buck beyond their abilities can often leave us red faced in retrospect. Gus Cesar will probably always be the poster boy for this familiar rise and fall narrative. Sometimes (often actually) potential does not germinate. Sometimes injury, ego or stasis sees young players plateau well before their prime. We take a look at five failed Arsenal ‘golden boys.’


Jermaine PENNANT– Pennant signed for Arsenal in January 1999 to much fanfare. He had just made his debut for Notts County in the F.A. Cup 3^rd round, just shy of his 16^th birthday. The Gunners paid a cool £2m for his signature, a record for a trainee. Pennant was regarded as Arsenal and England’s next great right-wing hope. He made his Arsenal debut aged 16-years and 319 days in a League Cup tie against Middlesbrough that November.

However, he waited almost three more years for his league debut. Despite a hat-trick against Southampton in May 2003, Pennant just did not develop as expected, with rumours of a sluggish attitude to training. After a farcical drink driving charge, in which he falsely identified himself as team-mate and best friend Ashley Cole to an arresting officer, he was packed off on loan to Birmingham City. He has since played for Liverpool, Portsmouth, Real Zaragoza, Stoke City, Wolverhampton Wanders and he’s currently plying his trade at Wigan Athletic.

David BENTLEY– Another for whom ego came before a fall. Bentley burst onto the scene with an exquisite chipped finish against Middlesbrough in the 2004 FA Cup. But he struggled to establish himself in a peerless ‘Invincibles’ line-up. He left grumbling about Wenger’s supposed preference for foreign players. Bentley’s achieved some success at Blackburn, before his career petered out at Tottenham. He retired from football aged just 29.

Jerémie ALIADIERE– The fleet footed Frenchman propelled Arsenal towards the FA Youth Cup in 2001, with comparisons to Thierry Henry and Michael Owen abounding. He seemed to have a deft mixture of pace and finishing ability, which he demonstrated fully with a wonderful, meandering solo run and finish against Wolves in the 2003/04 League Cup. Like Henry, he was a graduate from France’s stored Clairefontaine academy, the cradle of their ’98 World Cup and Euro 2000 success.

Wenger trusted his young striker so much that he started him in an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United later that year. But a succession of knee injuries impeded Aliaidere’s development. Fruitless loan spells at Wolves and West Ham spelled the end for him at Arsenal, he joined Middlesbrough in 2007. From there, he joined Lorient in 2011 and currently plays for Umm Salal in Qatar.

Peter MARINELLO– The Gunners paid a six-figure transfer fee for the first ever time in the summer of 1970 to procure the signature of Peter Marinello from Hibernian. With his snake like hips, quick feet and anarchic sideburns, the press dubbed Marinello ‘the next George Best.’ The hyperbole multiplied when he scored on his Gunners debut against Manchester United. But eventually the spotlight burned too bright for the young Scot and he shrivelled on centre stage. He shuffled off to Portsmouth in 1973 after 3 underwhelming years, where he drifted into non-descript spells at Motherwell, Fulham, Phoenix Inferno, Heart of Midlothian and Partick Thistle.

Nicklas BENDTNER– Formed a lethal partnership with the slight Italian Arturo Lupoli at reseve level in 2005-06. Bendtner seemed destined for a starring role in the first-team before long, not least according to the player himself. A successful loan spell at Birmingham in 2006-07 saw him introduced into the first team picture at Arsenal, where his highlight was undoubtedly a thumping header to win the North London derby in December 2007.

Bendtner became a prominent squad member and enjoyed a purple patch of form towards the end of the 2009-10 season. However, with van Persie ahead of him, the Dane became frustrated with a lack of opportunities. His career became more memorable for his off pitch exploits. Several run ins with the police, a late night “trousers down” photobomb outside of a London nightclub and a bizarre attempt to whip a taxi with his belt during a drunken night out ranked amongst just some of the Dane’s increasingly erratic predicaments. He refused the advances of a number of clubs offering him first-team football, choosing instead to sit out his £50k-a-week contract before joining Wolfsburg on a Bosman last summer.