10 footballers whose careers dipped after joining Arsenal

#9: Stephen Hughes

Hughes playing for Arsenal.

Stephen Hughes was the backbone of an Arsenal midfield, after joining the Gunners in his youth. But his playing time seemed to last much shorter than expected.

Hughes played in the time when the Invincibles squad was just under construction. The English midfielder failed to establish himself as the first-choice midfielder amongst Emmanuel Petit, Patrick Viera, Marc Overmars and Freddie Ljungberg.

He seemed to be another victim of downfall due to inadequate minutes on the pitch. The Englishman was always left out of crunch clashes and then loaned to Fulham in 1999. Hughes left the following year to revive his career with Everton but failed to do so.

Once a youngster at Arsenal, he scored 7 goals in 76 appearances in his five-year stint with the Gunners.