Bad predictions…

Gervinho.

The brazilian name tricked me into thinking he had tekkers.

Bellerin. Never believed back in 2015 he could drop levels the way he has.

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Anthony Vanden Borre.

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Nicolas Pepe

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Same here. I was sure he was the next Fabregas after THAT preseason.

As for otheres… There are quite a few… :wenger: Where to start… :bellend:

Rene Adelaide, after that perfomance vs Wolfsburg and De Bruyne I was absolutely sure he was the next big thing.

Sendersos… After first being underwhelmed by him at first I though he was brilliant in that CL run and thought he’s a future WC centre back.

Bendtner… Tbf I thought he had an ELITE ceiling after a few games in '08. Later gradually I started decreading my expectations… It never stopped.

Basically same with Denilson after a sTroNg start into the '09.

Frimpong, thought he was the new and improved Makelele.

And many many others I can’t recall right now… :bergkamp:

Non Arsenal players now… :sol:
Welbeck, I thought he was the new Drogba somewhere around 2011/12…
Though Smalling was the next Ferdinand and Jones the next Vidic. (I’m laughing as I’m typing this but I’m dead serious).

I’ll take some time to wright a secont post, can’t recall other names atm but there surely must be quite a few… You could say I had a bit of a tendency to hype young talents.

What just came to my mind, an opposite topic would be interesting too (no need for new actual thread). Players you never expected to do much but ended up becoming world class players and had great careers.

Great topic @SRCJJ :+1:

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Hahaha I really should have this guy on my list too. I think officially I said it to wind up some Liverpool mates but I once said he’d go on to be better than Owen :joy:

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I remember really wanting Afellay. I guess he can’t have been all bad if he made his way to Barca but I don’t think he ever did much after that.

And for some reason Mauro Zarate.

And obviously Chris the mountain Samba was exactly the hard man CB we were crying out for.

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I remember that time when Arsenal fans were cryring out for a big tough guy at the back

Football Manager maybe? Not my screengrab…I promise

that screenshot brings back so many great memories of old school fm

Vela was the big one from an Arsenal perspective, thought the lad was gonna be world class ffs.

Quaresma - not quite sure he belongs in this thread as he had a pretty decent career still, but he never really lived up to the hype for club or country. Would whip out a ridiculous outside of the foot cross once a year but couldn’t reach the top level consistently. Thought he had Ronaldo levels in him at one point.

These aren’t really bad predictions though. More unlucky predictions. Both of those players would have been better if not for injuries.

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David Bentley - turned out to be a Morris Minor.
JET
Richard Wright.

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David Bentley is a proper prick or legend depending what side of the fence you sit. I went to same secondary school as him. Later on he used to go to the pub all the time, mainly to the local Wetherspoons - the classic King James - wearing a football shirt with his own name on. Which when I was legally allowed to drink was Spurs. But I also witnessed him around the area pre legality wearing a Norwich shirt! This is a North London/Hertfordshire town, no one supports Norwich!

The side of the fence that says David Bentley is a legend is very sparsely fucking populated.

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Senderos and Djourou as a pair. I was genuinely convinced we’d sorted our CB partnership for at least a decade.

Carlos Vela is the big one, I had no doubt he’d be an amazing player. I still honestly think he could have been haha

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He had his moments but again as it is for a lot of footballers it seems to have been an attitude/determination issue.

Vela would’ve had a massive career if he took it seriously. Ultimately, he never did.