Arsenal have been linked with lots of players at the World Cup, but today they are being reported as favourites to sign a Germany squad player that hasn’t even figured in the first team yet!

Serdar Tasci is an accomplished centre-back, which is obviously the position that is highest in Arsene Wenger’s agenda at the monent. The 23 year-old currently plays for Stuttgart in the Bundesliga, and has been a regular for the last two seasons. He has also played in 12 full internationals although he isn’t first choice in this competition.

Both Tottenham and Arsenal are both reported to bidding for the player, but according to his agent, Uli Ferber, Tasci would prefer to join Arsenal than Spurs.

He said: “The situation is that Serdar is aware of the interest from the Premier League and he is eager to play in England at some point.

“Serdar respects both clubs as two of the biggest clubs in the Premier League.

“But he is a fan of Arsene Wenger and the work he has done and has great respect for him.”

As a 6ft 1in centre-half, Tasci is exactly the type of player that Arsenal are looking for, but with four years left on his contract he is unlikely to be cheap…

In alphabetical order, here are just 10 Arsenal ‘wonderkids’ that have failed to make an impact or deliver the goods after been touted as the next big thing at the North London club:

Arturo Lupoli

Lupoli was just 17 when he made the switch from Parma to Arsenal in 2004. The Italian striker was yet another promising prospect but failed to impress and shine for Arsenal football club. Many Arsenal fans (including me) thought that the Italian would have been one of those players who would see a majority of their career out at Arsenal, sadly we were mistaken. The forward could not settle in the area which led to Wenger sending the player out on-loan to Derby County after making just 9 appearances (3 as a substitute) in the red and white of the North London club. Lupoli did ok whilst playing for Derby and did manage to rack up a few appearances plus some goals. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough for Wenger to keep him at the club and let the striker join Serie A side Fiorentina in 2007 on a free. A promising talent yet delivered very little for the fans and Wenger to get excited about. Lupoli is now playing in Serie B for Ascoli

Fran Merida

The Spaniard was tipped to follow in the footsteps of Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas, but sadly for several Arsenal fans (including me) the creative midfielder was not given enough time to shine for the Gunners. Wenger acquired the youngster in 2007 from Barcelona but never gave the midfielder enough time to develop within the Arsenal squad. Many Arsenal fans would have been upset with the departure of the Spaniard this summer after they had expected the midfielder to play a more important role in the squad this season. Arsene Wenger also described him as an ‘absolutely amazing player’…so why didn’t you involve him in the team more, Arsene? Fran Merida has to be in this list purely for the fact that he was touted by many as the next Fabregas, yet we saw very little of his talent in the Arsenal jersey. Merida featured 15 times in a 3 year spell for the North London club and only bagged 3 goals. Merida recently signed for Atletico Madrid on a free having refused to sign a contract tabled by the Gunners earlier this year.

Jay Simpson

Speed, stamina and physically strong, Jay Simpson is yet another youngster who looks like he will be on his way out of the Emirates sooner rather than later. Simpson has only managed to notch up 3 appearances for the Gunners which came in the League Cup against Sheffield United in 2008. This was also the game where he got his first two and only senior goals for the club so far. The forward has propelled through the ranks of the youth system at Arsenal and now at 21, looks to be a fairly decent player for the future. Like all the other young footballers at Arsenal, the striker has been sent out on-loan to gain valuable first-team experience. Millwall, West Bromich Albion and QPR are the three clubs he has been sent out to so far. The striker has made a combined total of over 90 appearances and bagged 21 goals for the three clubs mentioned above. Simpson has recently finished his year loan spell at QPR, and Wenger insists that the striker will be heading back to the Emirates this summer. The future does look bright for Jay Simpson, but with Wenger’s persistent policy of acquiring young talent, it appears that Simpson may not be an Arsenal player for much longer, even though he looks to be a good young talent.


Jeremie Aliadiere

The French striker signed for Arsenal at just the age of 16 and was considered a highly promising prospect for the future. The head coach of the highly renowned Clairefontaine academy in France, Claude Dusseau stated that along with Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka, Aliadiere was amongst the best strikers to come out of the academy in the past 10 years. His talent was noticeable and displayed some promising performances during his time in North London. Unfortunately, injury problems did hamper the forward’s development, and as such, was mainly used as a substitute. During his 6 year spell at Arsenal, the striker managed to appear 51 times for the Gunners (32 of which he came off the bench) and netted 11 goals in all competitions. Could have been a really good player for the club, but injury problems certainly hampered his progress. Currently, the Frenchman is a free agent and will be looking for a new club after deciding not to renew his contract with Middlesbrough.

Jermaine Pennant

Jermaine Pennant signed for Arsenal in 1999 from Notts County for £2 million (a record fee for a trainee at the time) at just the age of 15. Fans certainly expected the youngster to shine and excel for the fee Wenger paid for him. However, Pennant was certainly a player who promised so much but in fact delivered very little in his time in North London. The Englishman never settled in North London and this was clearly evident as the winger was sent out on-loan throughout the majority of his Arsenal career, rather than playing for the Gunners. Whilst wearing the cannon on his chest, Pennant only managed to make a total of 25 appearances for the Gunners and bagged only 3 goals. A lot was expected, but unsettlement and a bad disciplinary record saw the winger leave Arsenal for yet another loan deal to Birmingham City in 2004. During his loan spell at the club, Pennant decided to sign permanently for the Blues in April 2005 on a free. The Englishman is currently contracted to Primera Divison side Real Zaragoza.

Justin Hoyte

Justin Hoyte was another promising player for Arsenal, yet the defender turned out to be not as good as everyone made out to be. Hoyte was with Arsenal from the age of 9 and worked his way up through the academy system from 1993 to 2003. In 2003 he was promoted to the senior squad where he managed to notch up a total of 68 appearances (most of which were when he came off the bench) and score 1 goal for the club. The defender was thought to be a good replacement for Lee Dixon, but once again we were fooled. Hoyte was not capable of playing in the top-flight of the English game and looked out of place when he did play for the Gunners. The full-back had a promising future for Arsenal, but truthfully failed to deliver when he was given his chance in the first-team. He was sent out on-loan to Sunderland in 2005 and was eventually sold to Middlesbrough in 2008 for an estimated £3 million deal. Another youngster who failed to make the grade at Arsenal.

Philippe Senderos

The Swiss defender had huge prospect and promise when he signed for Arsenal in 2002. Though, Senderos came to the North London club officially in 2003, many predicted that the 6’ 3’’ strong defender was the ideal replacement for Mr. Arsenal himself Tony Adams, sadly we were all mistaken. A lot of bad and clumsy performances by Senderos in the latter part of his Arsenal career led us to believe if this man could defend at all. Senderos really struggled to get to grips with the physicality and speed of the Premier League as he got older and was bullied by Didier Drogba every season when Arsenal and Chelsea met. He looked to be a good defender when he first arrived, but confidence and some stupid errors mistook all of us, maybe even Wenger. In his 7 year spell at Arsenal came to an end this summer and will now be playing for Fulham for the upcoming season.

Quincy Owusu Abeyie

A young, fast and dynamic youngster when he came to Arsenal in 2002, but by the end of 2006 Quincy Owusu Abeyie showed very little to impress the Arsenal fans and Arsene Wenger. The Ghanaian international made a total of 23 appearances for the Gunners (15 as a substitute) and scored only 2 goals during his 4 year stay. He looked to be a very good player, and had the correct attributes to succeed, not just at Arsenal football club but in the Premier League as well. Sadly Wenger didn’t give the young winger a chance to showcase and develop his talent in the English game. However, whilst he was at Arsenal the striker obviously didn’t impress Wenger enough to earn a longer stay in North London. Eventually Quincy Owusu Abeyie was sold to Spartak Moscow in 2006 for an undisclosed fee. In March this year, the forward decided to make the switch from the Russian league in favour for Qatar Stars League side Al-Sadd.

Sebastian Larsson

Another very promising youth player for the Gunners yet the Swede never really showed much to the fans and Wenger when he was given time on the pitch. Larsson signed for the Arsenal youth set-up when he was 16 in 2001 and developed his skills there for 3 years. He was officially introduced to the first-team squad in 2004 but rarely got a game. In the 2004/05 season the midfielder made cameo appearances in the League cup and only managed to make 3 appearances that year. The following season saw a slight improvement, but not a great one with 9 appearances for Arsenal of which 4 of them were from the bench. Wenger sent the Swede out on a season long loan to Birmingham City in 2006 (with options to buy the player) in order for the versatile midfielder to gain much needed experience in the English game. During his time at Birmingham, Larsson decided to end his Arsenal nightmare and sign for the Blues permanently in 2007 which only made Arsenal a profit of just £1 million. Since then Larsson has improved immensely from the youngster we saw at Highbury 5 years ago. He was a promising talent for the Gunners, but couldn’t break through the ranks and as such he had to move on. Larsson has now become a regular for Birmingham City, making over 100 appearances for the club and has been capped for Sweden 22 times.

Steve Sidwell

Steve Sidwell was an extremely highly rated youngster at Arsenal youth academy but failed to make a single appearance for the Gunners senior team. Sidwell signed for Arsenal in 1999 and was one of many youth players that many would have thought could have made a number of appearances for the first-team. Unfortunately Wenger never gave the central midfielder a real chance to shine on the big stage. Sidwell appeared only at youth level for the club and had to make do by going out on-loan. Sidwell had spells with Brentford, Bevern and Brighton Albion before eventually leaving the North London club in 2003 to join Reading for an undisclosed fee. Sidwell then moved on to Chelsea and is currently playing his football at Aston Villa under Martin O’Neill. Yet another promising star that failed to live up to the hype in the Arsenal jersey, than again, his manager never gave him a real chance.

The Ghana midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah was very impressive at the World Cup and helped his team to reach the quarter-finals, and it is only to be expected that the 21 year-old would attract attention from some of the biggest clubs in Europe.

Asamoah has been linked with Arsenal for some months now, long before his performances in South Africa, and he said in May that he would be keen to move to the Gunners if they made a firm offer.

His agent Claudio Vagheggi said yesterday: “There is interest from a number of clubs. A move to the Premier League is a possibility for the player. But, he [Kwadwo Asamoah] has four years left on his contract with Udinese.

“There are two or three clubs from the Premier League interested in Asamoah. Manchester City and Arsenal are the two most important clubs. He is happy to play in the Premier League and I think he would do very well there.”

Despite his age he has already made 22 appearances for his country, and it only seems to be a matter of time before he moves on to bigger and better things.

As he said in May, when he was asked if he would go to Arsenal, he said: Kwadwo Asamoah said “Why not? But for now I cannot say I will go or not but I will be able to settle down and decide after the world cup.

“As you can see, football is about steps and nobody started playing at a big team.”