The Gunners’ 2-0 defeat at Chelsea this weekend has left them pretty much out of the running for this season’s Premier League title, but Arsene Wenger’s squad is still young enough to ensure that they don’t end up as forgotten about as this lot.
Sport.co.uk asks: whatever happened to the following 5 Arsenal players?
1. Glenn Helder
The Dutch winger scored only once in 39 games at Arsenal between 1995 and 1997 before the arrival of compatriot Marc Overmars froze him out for good. He was later spotted playing poker on Channel 5 although he stated in a 1999 interview that his compulsive gambling led him to try and commit suicide. In 2007, he was imprisoned for physically assaulting his girlfriend, with a psychological investigating concluding that he suffers from "a Narcissistic personality disorder with hints of borderline".
2. Eddie McGoldrick
The midfielder was born in Islington and was therefore eligible to represent the Republic of Ireland at international level. (Zing!) He arrived with a glowing reputation from Crystal Palace in 1993 but left with that reputation in tatters three years later. He scored a cracker against Standard Liege once, though. Went on to play for and manage Corby Town. Corby, eh? We’re im-pressed. (Sorry.)
3. Kaba Diawara
The Guinean forward cost £2.5m from Bordeaux in 1999 and went on to hit the post a few times. Made his debut in the infamous FA Cup game against Sheffield United which had to replayed after Nwankwo Kanu – who came on for Diawara as a sub – broke away with Overmars and scored when they should have put the ball out for an opponent to receive treatment. He later played for Blackburn Rovers and West Ham United amongst others but never quite fulfilled his promise on these shores.
4. David Hillier
The combative midfielder made over 100 appearances for the Gunners during his 1988-1996 stint at Highbury, but injuries, a training ground drugs test that revealed him to have smoked cannabis and a strange incident at Gatwick Airport where he was caught stealing £3000’s worth of another passenger’s luggage…well, suffice to say, the Arsene Wenger regime held no place for him. He later became a fireman.
5. Stephen Hughes
As a young midfielder with a reputation for deadly setpieces and a cultured left foot, many eyebrows were raised when the club let him join Everton for £3m in 2000 but his dismal time at Goodison set his career up to be a gradual downwards spiral. He scored only two goals for the Toffees – both against Watford, whom he subsequently joined before later finding regular games once again at Coventry City.