5 worst Arsenal players of 2017

Following their dramatic FA Cup win against league champions Chelsea last season, many would have thought that Arsenal would kick on and be in contention for the Premier League crown in 2017-18.

However, the club faltered soon enough and after the last gasp win against Leicester City on an opening day, Arsenal lost away to Stoke City and was clobbered 4-0 by Liverpool. As the year winds down, the club finds itself in 6th place and have already accumulated 5 losses.

Much of the blame for that must go to some of the players who have been diabolically poor at times. The manager is also to blame but this exercise is focussed on the worst players for Arsenal in 2017 and here are 5 players who have let the team down massively.

---

#5 Petr Cech

Petr Cech looks on as Liverpool score another goal.

When Arsenal brought in Chelsea's long-serving star goalkeeper Petr Cech to the Emirates back in 2015 on a free transfer, it was looked upon as a coup of sorts due to his achievements for the West London club for over a decade.

Things have not turned out as many would have thought and the fact that he was on the decline became apparent in 2016-17. However, in 2017, Cech has been absolutely disappointing for Arsenal in goal and while some of the goals that the team have conceded maybe down to defensive frailties, many others went in owing to Cech's declining abilities as a top-level goalkeeper.

His reflexes are slower, his decision making is poor and in addition to that, he cannot play a pass to start a build up to save his life. More often than not, Cech hoofs the ball upfield and hopes for the best. He has not yet saved a penalty for Arsenal and has cost the club in some big games.

In the game against Manchester United, Cech could not get down in time to save Antonio Valencia's shot while David de Gea saved the game for the visitors by making 14 saves in total. In the game against Liverpool, he was responsible for letting in the 3rd goal and cost Arsenal 2 points.

Cech will go down in history as one of the finest goalkeepers to have played in the Premier League but not because of his exploits at Arsenal.

#4 Hector Bellerin

Hector Bellerin in action against Newcastle United

During the transfer window in the summer, Hector Bellerin was being linked with a move to either of Barcelona or Manchester City and there was no reason to be surprised at such approaches since he was among the best young right backs in Europe at the time.

However, that assertion can no longer be made with as much conviction following the young Spaniard's shows for Arsenal in the 2017 season. This season Bellerin has been a liability for Arsenal on many occasions and some of the numbers clearly illustrate that point.

According to Squawka, he has made the highest number of defensive errors among all Arsenal defenders and one of those 3 errors has directly led to a goal. On the other hand, his much-lauded overlapping runs down the right have not amounted to much either and his crosses have been quite disappointing.

He has a pass accuracy of 85% and has also been able to claim only 1 assist all season. Hopefully, he will be able to reverse this sorry trend in the new year.

#3 Laurent Koscielny

Laurent Koscielny loses the ball to Charlie Austin

Frenchman Laurent Koscielny had become one of the best defenders in the Premier League over the course of the past few years and naturally, he is the player around whom Arsenal's defensive game revolves. The 5-1 collapse against Bayern Munich last season after he went off at 1-1 is a case in point.

So, even if his game drops by a bit, the effects on Arsenal's overall play is profound and this season has been a particularly trying campaign for the Frenchman, who has simply not been at his best. His Achilles injury has also flared up and he needs treatment for it every day, which has made him a liability of sorts when the club needs to play more than 1 game a week.

The mistakes this season have piled up at an alarming pace and what should be even more worrisome for Arsenal is that his famed pace also seems to be going south. Additionally, the way he got outmuscled by Paul Pogba in the game against Manchester United which directly resulted in United's 3rd goal in the game was a clear indication of the fact that Koscielny is no longer the defender that he used to be.

In the most recent game against Liverpool, his mistakes cost Arsenal a goal as well. That is not the sort of mistakes that can be tolerated by the defensive leader of a team like Arsenal and perhaps it is time that the club started looking for a new central defender or two.

#2 Alexis Sanchez

Alexis Sanchez has been nowhere near his best this season

The botched £60 million transfer to Manchester City and Chile's failure to qualify for the World Cup in Russia seem to have completely deflated Alexis Sanchez. The attacker, who scored 30 goals across all competitions for Arsenal last season seems to have gone completely rogue and his performances for the club this season have sometimes been a bit comical.

He has scored only 5 times so far in the league and although that still makes him the second highest scorer at Arsenal this season, it needs to be kept in mind that the club decided against selling him since they thought that he could replicate his last season's exploits.

However, beyond the goals, Sanchez has been guilty of sometimes throwing tantrums, screaming at teammates and has given the ball away in the opposition's half more than any other player in the side.

For instance, Sanchez cut a sorry figure at the Emirates earlier this month during the 0-0 draw against David Moyes' West Ham United and was guilty of giving the ball away as many as 21 times. His heart is not in it anymore and there are rumours that Arsenal might actually sell him in January.

#1 Granit Xhaka

Granit Xhaka has been in terrible form

For years, Arsenal fans and many in the football media had pointed out that the club needed an authoritative midfielder, who could dictate play, make interceptions in the middle of the park and control the game. Arsenal eventually decided to spend and bought Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka from Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach for a cool £35 million.

Xhaka had troubles in his first season and while it could be excused due to the fact that it was his first season in England, his performance in 2017 has actually been poorer. Xhaka has neither been able to control the play from deep much nor has he shown any particular skills for breaking up play and worst of all, he often gets dispossessed at the worst possible positions.

It might sound strange that a player who was touted to be the next big deep-lying playmaker has turned into Arsenal's worst player this year. Xhaka might have scored a thumping goal against Liverpool the other day but that only papers over his costly mistakes in this season so far.

In the very first game against Leicester City, he misplaced a pass and gifted the visitors a goal. The same happened in the away loss at Stoke. Tom Cleverley's injury-time winner away at Watford could have been prevented had Xhaka not been picking his nose and was instead tracking the player's run. It is perhaps time for Arsenal to think whether they should replace him or carry him till the end of the season.