Arsenal and Africa: five African players you might have forgotten played for the Gunners

Arsenal’s current squad is littered with star players hailing from Africa.

Ivory Coast international Nicholas Pepe holds the record as Arsenal’s most expensive signing.

Pepe joined from Lille for £72m in 2019, Ghana’s Thomas Partey joined shortly from Atletico Madrid, adding to Egypt’s Mohammed Elneny and club captain Pierre Emerick Aubameyang who is from Gabon.

The Gunners have always had a rich history of African players who contributed significantly to the club at every point in time.

So with that in mind, LondonWorld brings you five African players you might have forgotten represented the club.

Christopher Wreh 1997-2000

The retired Liberia international striker had a nomadic career that saw him play for clubs in France, Greece and in the Middle East.

But between 1997 and 2000 he played for Arsenal, helping the team to win the Premier League and FA Cup double during the 1997/1998 season.

He scored in the 1998 FA Cup semi-final win against Wolves, which earned him a place in the starting XI at Wembley.

Wreh played for 62 minutes in the 2-0 win over Newcastle United, before he was replaced by David Platt.

Alex Song 2006-2012

Song is currently on the books of Djibouti side Arta/Solar7, and before that was playing in Russia.

It’s easy to forget that the former Cameroon international spent almost  a decade at Arsenal, playing 133 games and helping the team to FA Cup, League Cup and Community Shield triumph.

He was eventually sold to Barcelona for £15 million.

Gervinho 2011-2013

Gervinho now plays for Trabzonspor in the Turkish Super Lig, but back in 2011 he was a player at Arsenal football club.

He is the only player in the history of football to have been sent off on his Premier League debut against Newcastle for slapping Joey Barton.

Gervinho was known as an enigmatic player, who could go from the sublime to the ridiculous.

He played 46 times for the Gunners, scoring nine goals before departing for Roma in 2013.

Quincy Owusu-Abeyie 2003-2006

Quincy Owusu-Abeyie now lives a quiet life with his family in Amsterdam and still kicks around with SV Robinsoon.

But between 2003 and 2006, the Ghanaian was running down the line for Arsenal having come through the club’s development teams.

In that time he only made five Premier League appearances, and was an understudy to Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp.

He later played for Celta Vigo and Panathinaikos amongst others.

Marouane Chamakh 2010-2013

When Chamakh arrived at Arsenal in 2010, he was described as one of the hottest strikers in Europe.

He had just helped Bordeaux to reach the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League, and scored against top sides like Juventus and Bayern Munich.

The Moroccan scored eight goals in the league and Champions League, in his first few months at Arsenal.

However after that the goals dried up.

Competition with more established names like Robin Van Persie, and NIcklas Bendtner meant he later went out on loan to West Ham and Crystal Palace.

He played 40 league games for the Gunners and scored 9 times during his time at the club.