Country: South Africa
Player:Nketiah
No player in the right mind thought Arsenal were in the same league as Man United/Real Madrid etc, 'size wise'....Or 'heritage' wise.
But Arsenal, specifically under Arsène, had a track record of signing the likes of Vieira/Henry and turning them into stars. So years after the invincibles, young talented start were still interested in joining Arsenal.
Nottingham Forest 'Heritage wise' are an English domestic giant....But how many players in their early 20's, from abroad, know who they are?
Celtic/Rangers are right up there fanbase wise, with any other club in the UK.
Chelsea, are considered (By pretty much everyone apart from Arsenal fans), to be the biggest and most successful club from London....
And again, players watching on from abroad, or even just younger football fans, will share that perspective too.
No doubt we havent been the biggest club in London, arguably since 2012, but we still are the third biggest side in the UK, and still a major player in Europe. Liverpool remained the number one side for many years prior to Klopp, simply because of the amount of history the club has gathered over the years. United remained the second biggest club, despite not winning a trophy in five years, and the league in almost ten.
Basically what Im saying to you is... despite poor form, United, Liverpool and Arsenal remain levels ahead of the rest of the pack. Chelsea, and to an extent City, are now forcing their way in... due to the sheer numbers they are putting out, results wise... but it would still take them a decade or so, to catch up with Arsenal, United and Liverpool, at their current velocity.
I'm not going to mention Leicester at all bud, I'm sure you understand why. Although I would say... at your current velocity (which is excellent), I'd say 20-30 years of consistency should bring you into the discussion.
Long story short, we are very, very poor at the moment, the poorest we have been ever, and that translates to an 8th placed club in the Premier League, and last season's second tier European competition semi-finalist. And this is seen as a joke situation for the club, which it is.
There are levels to this success game mate, our current situation, is seen as Arsenal's worst ever... when it would be just another day at Leicester, Sp**s, West Ham, pre oil City, and pre oil Chelsea.