The 4 players Arsenal signed alongside Mesut Ozil and how they fared

Mesut Ozil turned out to be one of the more divisive players in Arsenal’s history, but how did the others signed alongside him fare?

Arsene Wenger bought Ozil to the Emirates during the summer of 2013 after Arsenal fans had clamoured for a marquee signing for a number of seasons. The arrival of the German playmaker was met with ecstatic scenes but Ozil only partially delivered on what was expected of him.

But he was not the only player to arrive at the club that summer. We take a look at the four other faces that joined the Gunners in the same window as Ozil and how they fared.

Yaya Sanogo

A cheat code on various iterations of Football Manager, desktop Guardiolas everywhere were thrilled when Arsenal picked up Sanogo on a free transfer from Auxerre.

Then reality hit. The striker was only 20 when he arrived at the Emirates and immediately looked too raw for first-team football.

Wenger tried to gently encourage him, calling one performance against Liverpool in the FA Cup “excellent”, but Sanogo was the wrong man to fire Arsenal towards a title challenge.

Sanogo even somehow failed to look the part while scoring four goals during an Emirates Cup game against Benfica. The only competitive goal he recorded came in a Champions League win against Borussia Dortmund.

He was loaned out to Crystal Palace, Auxerre and Charlton before being released in 2017.

Sanogo tried but he was almost heroically bad.

Remember when Yaya Sanogo scored four goals in a pre-season game against Benfica in 2014 before Arsenal went on to win their first title in 12 years with Sanogo bagging 27 goals to finish as Premier League top scorer?pic.twitter.com/C5gRaxcn4m

— Planet Football (@planetfutebol) July 27, 2022

Mathieu Flamini

They say never go back, but Flamini’s return to Arsenal went quite well all things considered.

Bought back from AC Milan to provide some much-needed bite, the long-haired midfielder won rave reviews for his early performances as Arsenal stormed to the top of the 2013-14 Premier League table.

That didn’t last – of course it didn’t. And Flamini was never likely to provide a long-term solution to Arsenal’s well-documented reluctance to replace Patrick Vieira.

He won the FA Cup twice during his second spell at the club, but Flamini was an unused sub on both occasions. He left for Crystal Palace in 2016 after 93 appearances and five goals.

Semi Ajayi

He may be a solid fixture in West Brom’s first team these days, but Ajayi never made it onto the…