10 footballers whose careers dipped after joining Arsenal

#5: Nelson Vivas

Nelson Vivas got more criticism than he deserved which lead to his Arsenal exit.

Arsene Wenger signed Nelson Vivas as a backup for inveterate defence duo Lee Dixon and Nigel Winterburn. His first team chances were already scarce with Arsenal fielding a plethora of talented players at Highbury.

If anybody remembers Vivas, it has to be the fateful match against Leeds United in 1999. The Argentine defender became a scapegoat for more criticism than he deserved regarding his blunder.

In the fixture against Leeds, Vivas came on as an 81st-minute substitute for the injured Winterburn. The Argentine failed to mark Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink who scored the winner in the dying minutes of the fixture. However, Vivas was condemned for being the reason Arsenal were thrown out of the title race in 1999. Wenger did no good by further criticizing the defender publicly in the media.

The match was easily in the bag had Arsenal not missed the host of chances they produced during the game. Also, Vivas was trying to mark multiple players when Hasselbaink scored the goal.

To top his woes, Vivas missed a penalty in the shootout against Middlesborough in the League Cup as Arsenal crashed out of the competition. The Argentine was unjustly deemed as a failure at Highbury and left the Gunners after his three-year-spell, making only 61 appearances.