Only Arsenal would buy a player to ease an injury crisis that was already injured.
This, along with Bischoff, rank as the most pointless and unambitious transfers we’ve made.
We needed quality to walk into the first team to give us the chance to win the title but the best Wenger and the board could come up with was this uninspiring pile of mediocrity.
This is a true Arsenal legend.
This was why I thought it was unfair to put Ozil in the former gunners section. How can you compare his contribution to a giant of club history like this?
Bischoff was a free transfer and came with a decent reputation as being a potential talent but had some injury issues. It was a short term punt.
Seems a strange example to use to highlight the clubs lack of ambition
One of my favourite players in the Emirates era. Saucy left foot.
Throwback. I’m sure most of us have seen Kim K’s recollection of his time at Arsenal and of course the semi-final pen versus Wigan…if you haven’t, you’re welcome.
Too long to copy and paste it all.
"I look like a boy as I walk across the grass, with the ball under my arm. Well-groomed side-parting, a clean red shirt, white sleeves, and a golden cannon on my breast. I’m a man past thirty years of age, in a boy’s dream. It’s the semifinal of the English FA cup, against Wigan, with 82,000 people on the stands of Wembley Stadium, among which 50,000 root for us.
They are loud and starving fans that hunger for a title. They haven’t won anything for nine years, which is an eternity for a club that is considered one of the greatest in the World. They have the most loyal fans, gooners. By strange and unexpected detours, I’ve ended up at the top club Arsenal, in north London.
With straight legs, I bend down and put the ball on the spot. I throw a quick glance at the keeper. I’ve already decided where to place it. I try not to smile. The moment is here. I’m here - in the middle of the latin motto of the club: Victoria Concordia Crescit. Victory grows through harmony. I can’t help myself but smile slightly. I haven’t even played half an hour for Arsenal. I debuted against Swansea, for eleven minutes, and now I was substituted on in extra time when it was to be decided. Fifteen minutes of a footballer’s life, which changed my story."
We needed ready made quality and a couple of top quality signings to play alongside our few elite players to get us challenging for the title.
We already had the worst injury record of almost any top club in Europe and yet we bought two players on the cheap, who Wenger knew already had injury problems.
The signings of Kallstrom and Bischoff, no matter how cheap, are the perfect illustration of our lack of ambition and the main reason every top player we had at the club, left us to go elsewhere.
Excellent read.
Just for that peno he really is an Arsenal legend. That was such a fantastic moment after having watched for all those years and all those heartbreak to finally get a moment of ecstasy like that. At that point I knew we were winning the FA Cup even tho it was just a semi.
More trophies than Harry Kane.
Next up for his former Gunners thread 
He certainly is a former Gunner, after just scraping in with a few minutes of playing in an an Arsenal shirt. 
Then we can have Denilson.
I remember him being described as the only Brazilian footballer who plays with no flair.
Kallstrom, Bischoff, Denilson, Park, Chamakh, Sylvestre, Santos, Squillaci, Gervinho, etc.
We moved from Highbury for this.
No idea where to put this so made it its own thread. Not really for discussion but thought it was a brilliant piece from Kim about his time at Arsenal and it deserves to be read by as many people on here as possible and makes a change from the usual stuff. Click the link through on Reddit to read its entirety.
It really puts into context as well why players make moves to big clubs. 15minutes the best of his life and he made two apps. This is why players strive to move to the big clubs and also why I think criticism a lot face for it is often unjust.
Fantastic read that. Now like Kimi even more! Sounds like a good guy also.
Kim is a fantastic person irl and should be a big role model for younger players. So far from a diva you can possibly get. Wish we had him in his prime about 10 years ago.
Bring him back.
Lovely words from a lovely and unlucky guy.
Fantastic read, and we all know what was said at the time, we all thought he was a waste of time and in the big picture he was, but, he came in, done a job and done what was required of him, you can’t argue with any of that really.
Also, from hi point of view, he done what anyone who is ever likely to do in his position (except those ones that think they are bigger than anything), a club like Arsenal bang on his door and he took his opportunity, he knew he wasn’t going to all of a sudden become a first team starter, he knew he would be on the bench and his playing time would be limited at best, and fair play to him he accepted that and done his job, and scoring a penalty to put us in the final was a big ask, and he done it.
Fair play to hime and a great article.
Must have been such a devastating feeling to be on a verge of a move & be told that he has several vertebral fractures.
Not as devastating as learning that the only player your manager has signed in the January transfer window has vertabral fractures and wont play for 2 months !:campbell: