Connect with us

Arsenal FC Fixtures

Do you know about Arsenal’s curse of No.9?

Published

on

The curse of the Arsenal No.9

Image result for Arsenal no. 9

The list of Arsenal No. 9 goes on and on. But none of them could escape the curse of the No.9.

Here’s a list of former Arsenal players who wore the No.9 shirt:

Paul Merson

Image result for paul merson arsenal

Paul was Arsene’s first no.9 and he only lasted a season. He had a history of drinking, gambling and drug abuse. Middlesbrough offered a player a deal to double his money. The player had no troubles with the manager or with anyone at the club. He left a 3rd place Premier League Club for a FirstDivision Club happily as he really needed the money.

Nicolas Anelka

Image result for nicolas anelka Arsenal no. 9

This is when the curse started properly. Arsenal had signed Anelka from PSG as a 17 year old  for just £500,000. He was one of the finest Arsenal No. 9 in the history.He scored 17 goals in his first season winning the PFA Young Player of The Year. He started making noises about being unhappy in England. His brothers saw him as a cash cow and moved him to Real Madrid.

After one year he rejoined PSG. Later on, moves to Liverpool, Manchester City, Fenerbache, Bolton, Chelsea, Shanghai Shenhua, Juventus, WBA and Mumbai City followed. Anelka and his brothers made millions through signing on fees.

Davor Suker

Davor came to Arsenal as a part of the Anelka deal. He lasted a year and also missed a penalty in the UEFA Cup final.

Image result for davor suker Arsenal no. 9

Francis Jeffers

Image result for Francis Jeffers Arsenal no. 9

The Englishman was termed as the next big thing. He was an instant hit in the Premier League. He made his debut for Everton aged 16 and scored 20 goals in 60 games for them.

He was signed for £8million at just 20 years old. His career was short lived as injuries got the best of him and he was loaned back to Everton.

Jose Antonio Reyes

Image result for Jose Antonio Reyes Arsenal no. 9

The Spaniard joined Arsenal in January 2004 for £10.5m. Big things were expected of him as he made his debut for Sevilla just aged 16. He had an amazing spell at Arsenal but rumors came out that he was homesick as he could barely read and write in Spanish and didn’t knew a single word of English.

Eventually, Reyes left in a loan swap to Madrid for Julio Baptista, but his career never really his the heights of 2004.

Julio Baptista

Image result for Julio Baptista Arsenal no. 9

Julio Baptista was a big flop at Arsenal. He only scored 3 goals in 24 league appearances. He was overweight, slow and had an awful technique. He didn’t seem the same player who scored 47 goals in 79 league games. Thus, his loan move was never made permanent.

Eduardo

Related image Arsenal no. 9

The Curse of the No.9 did the worst to Eduardo. It tried to rob the player of his career. Reading the story of this Arsenal No. 9 always makes me sad.

His career at Arsenal had taken a slow but a steady start. He was on fire in January 2008. In February, in a match against Birmingham, he met his horrible horrible fate. He was a victim of a despicable foul by Martin Taylor and was left on the ground with a broken leg and open dislocation of his ankle.

He returned a year later but he wasn’t half the player he used to be so he was sold to Shakhtar Donetsk.

Park Chu-Young

Image result for park chu-young Arsenal no. 9

He was on the verge of joining Lille when he disappeared overnight and ended up in London and signing for Arsenal. He stayed at Arsenal for 3 seasons. He only made one League appearance that too as an substitute in the last 8 minutes against Manchester United.

Lukas Podolski

Related image Arsenal no. 9

He joined Arsenal in 2012 following the relegation of his boyhood club Koln. He was a fan favorite. His left foot was quiet strong. He scored 31 goals in 81 appearances, averaging a goal every 145 minutes.

However, he could not break into the Arsenal starting 11. There were no problems things just didn’t seem to click for him.

Arsenal’s newest no.9 Alexandre Lacazette performed greatly at Lyon. Let’s hope the curse ends and doesn’t effect any more of Arsenal’s No.9s. ')}

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Arsenal FC Fixtures

Arsenal v Brighton: preview, team news, possible XI, prediction & more

Published

on

Arsenal Brighton

Match Preview: Arsenal hope to bounce back against Brighton after Palace

Arsenal will be hosting Brighton at home this Saturday as they look to get back on track after Monday’s loss. Brighton themselves are desperately in search of a win, after consecutive losses and their last result being a draw.

The Gunners had to face a setback against the Eagles and had to see Spurs climb above them in tables over the weekend. Still, Arteta’s men hold a game in hand over Conte’s team and are tied on points.

Arsenal had no bite in attack or defense against Crystal Palace

After a couple of key injuries to Partey and Tierney, it’ll be a test for Arteta to find solutions. The coach, however, is full of optimism.

“We have to show tomorrow the energy, the commitment and the passion that we want to play the game tomorrow in front of our fans,” he said via Arsenal.

Team News

Kieran Tierney will be out for this game and his injury might keep him out for the rest of the season. Arteta confirmed the left-back had surgery but didn’t confirm any timeline for his return.

“He just had surgery yesterday, so it’s very early to understand how everything is going to develop, he’s going to be out for the period that we estimate and in which condition he will be after that period I think it’s too soon to say something else.”

Another player that will miss the game is Thomas Partey, who is struggling with a thigh injury. “It’s a little bit ambiguous but he has a significant injury. We will have to keep assessing him but he will be out for some weeks,” he said.

Further elaborating, “It’s an area he had a previous injury and he felt it straight away and he’s not fit.”

Possible Arsenal Starting XI

Arsenal: Ramsdale; Cedric, White, Gabriel, Nuno; Lokonga, Xhaka; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Lacazette

Result Prediction

Arsenal 2 – 1 Brighton

We fully expect Arteta’s men to get back to winning ways after that setback on Monday night. Brighton, while they shouldn’t be taken lightly, are winless in their last seven games.

 

Continue Reading

Arsenal FC Fixtures

What Arteta said about Tavares, players leaving in January and MORE!

Published

on

Arteta Tavares

Check out everything Mikel Arteta had to say about Nuno Tavares, if he regrets players leaving in January

It is safe to say that Nuno Tavares, just like the team and Arteta, did not have a great performance on Monday. However, it is those defeats that test the mentality and separate the best from the average.

Arteta talked about how to give the youngster confidence and why he decided to take him off. “Always I speak with the players and I spoke with Nuno because I care about how feel. We are here to help them and make their careers better.”

Regardless, he understood it wasn’t a decision that was great for the Tavares but one he understood.

“That was a decision that hurt him, obviously, but he understands that it was for the benefit of the team and he respects that.” via Arsenal’s official website.

When asked how he intends on getting the best out of Tavares, he said:

“His confidence probably wasn’t the best because he wasn’t playing a lot of minutes as well and probably wasn’t at his best and he needs the rhythm, the competition and the understanding with his teammates.”

Quite evidently, there is a deep mutual respect and understanding between the players and Arteta. The mutual respect between players and coach goes a long way as defeats shape character in tough patches of form.

Arteta does not have regrets over letting players leave

The Gaffer was asked whether letting players leave in January was the right decision. He reaffirmed and asked back if he should justifying those decisions again and again.

“I don’t know if we have to justify it, we have to make a decision based on what we see every day, ” he said.

The former Everton man continued, “How the players can contribute in the role that they have at the club, or if they cannot do it or they don’t want to do it, we find solutions and that’s what we always try to do.”

 

Continue Reading

Arsenal FC Fixtures

Arteta on Palace defeat, Brighton game, fight for top 4 and more

Published

on

Arteta brighton

Check out everything Arteta had to say about Arsenal’s game against Brighton and more

Arteta and Arsenal were faced with an unexpected setback with a humiliating defeat at Selhurst park. The Gunners looked done and out of the game from the kick off whistle.

When asked how the defeat impacted the squad, Arteta had a bit to say. “Embrace the challenge. You lost, now you want to win, it’s hurting and it’s still hurting. We lost two big players, two really important players for us for sure.” Via Arsenal.

While his tone suggested he blamed injuries, he accepted responsibility and to accept the result.

“But whenever that happens you can’t cry for it because they are not going to be available for us. So we have to find other solutions and we have to be as good and as competitive as we have been.”

Arteta was also asked about what were his expectations for the match against Brighton. The Spaniard said the usual things one says before a game about his opponent.

“They’re a team with a lot of personality, a coach that is very willing to play, that is very aggressive in the way they press, that wants to dominate the game and they have good players to do that but they are very difficult to beat.”

Besides just complimenting Brighton, he commented on their set piece intelligence and defense.

Arteta when asked about top four

The coach was also asked about if the belief of finishing top four is still there. His comments implicated he wants the squad to move on from the defeat and focus on the task ahead.

“[The setback] has happened and it’s happened with nine games to go and we have to react now.

We have to show tomorrow the energy, the commitment and the passion that we want to play the game tomorrow in front of our fans.”

Continue Reading

Trending