The World Cup of underrated Arsenal players

New York Times

6 hours ago

Who is the most underrated player in Arsenal's recent history?
Ian Stone is joined by Amy Lawrence, Adrian Clarke and James McNicholas for a special Handbrake Off, in which the panel attempt to pick the player who has done the most for the club with the least fanfare.
Ian, Amy, Adrian, James and The Athletic's Art de Roché gave producer Jay names of the Arsenal players they believe should be in the conversation. The only names they were aware of pre-recording were those they submitted individually.
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The players were drawn out of a hat in knockout competition style, going up against each other head to head being put to a vote each time.
In the spirit of the confusing Club World Cup, the tournament began with 17 names, meaning one had to be eliminated immediately. This left the panel deliberating on what it means to be underrated…
Ian: We've got to get rid of one name who we believe is so terrible that he's not underrated.
James: Or that he's too rated! It's funny because by definition the most underrated players won't be on this list.
Adrian: Well I've got to say I put Alexis Sanchez in there because I think he is much much better than he is remembered for among Arsenal supporters.
Amy: I think he's still my son's favourite player so I think he's quite highly rated in our house.
James: It's hard because 'underrated', it's all relative isn't it. You could be an average player with a lot of positive perception, it's not necessarily about you ability it's about how you're perceived.
Ian: I cannot believe Alexis Sanchez is even on the table…
Adrian: Don't get me wrong I rate Alexis, that's why I put him in there. I just don't think he's as rated among certain sections of the support, as he should be. That for me is the ultimate underrated player.
The round of 16 began as follows…
Tune in to The Arsenal World Cup of underrated players on The Athletic's Arsenal podcast, Handbrake Off to find out who the team crowned as their underrated champion, and let us know in the comments below who your choice would be.
(Top photo of Alexis Sanchez and Santi Cazorla: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)