Arsenal have dealt with French clubs countless times over the years, both in terms of signings and sales, with Arsene Wenger having a huge impact.
Wenger was one of the most influential managers in the history of English football, and his influence also extended to his native France as he developed several world-class players who would go on to win trophies with the French National Team.
Throughout his time at Arsenal, Wenger signed and sold countless French players, and dealt with clubs in the French leagues. One club Arsenal seemingly had a good relationship with was FC Girondins de Bordeaux, but the former Ligue 1 Champions have been dealt a heartbreaking blow.
Bordeaux have now filed for bankruptcy, and as a result, have abandoned their status as a professional club, which began in 1937, and a historic side with six league titles to their name has completely folded.
Arsenal have had five former players also feature for Bordeaux over the years, and they will no doubt be mortified at what happened to one of their old clubs.
The five Arsenal players who also played for Bordeaux
Kaba Diawara
Arsenal dealt directly with Bordeaux in January 1999 as they wanted to strengthen their attack, and Wenger signed striker Kaba Diawara from the French side.
Diawara made 15 appearances in six months for Arsenal, but failed to score a single goal before joining Marseille in the summer that followed. He did earn a Ligue 1 title medal, as Bordeaux secured title victory in his absence.
Sylvain Wiltord
Although Sylvain Wiltord never quite hit the consistent heights expected of him at Arsenal, whom he joined after scoring the winner in the final of Euro 2000, he did produce some iconic moments.
His greatest moment was scoring the winner against Manchester United at Old Trafford in 2002, a goal which won Arsenal the title, and he wrote himself into club history with the strike.
Arsenal signed Wiltord for a club record fee of around £13m directly from Bordeaux after his exploits with the France National Team.
Wiltord was a title winner and club icon at both Bordeaux and Arsenal, having won the Golden Boot in Ligue 1 as he carried Bordeaux to the title in 1999, and scored 59 goals for them overall.
Marouane Chamakh
Arsenal thought they had secured a gem in Marouane Chamakh when he arrived from Bordeaux in 2010, with Wenger seeking extra firepower alongside Robin van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner.
Chamakh scored 74 goals for Bordeaux, making him their seventh-highest scorer in history, and he also helped them win the title in 2009 with 16 goals.
The Moroccan striker had scored 10 goals by November after a lightning-fast start at Arsenal, with the attacker also thriving in the Champions League with three strikes in three games. However, he would not score again for the rest of the season after a goal against Aston Villa in November 2010.
Chamakh managed just 14 goals in 67 appearances overall for Arsenal, and is definitely more fondly remembered as a title-winning icon at Bordeaux.
Laurent Koscielny
Frenchman Laurent Koscielny was one of the best defenders of the ‘Emirates era’ at Arsenal, and at his peak was one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League.
Koscielny suffered injury problems in his final few seasons, and missed the 2018 World Cup after playing through pain for Arsenal in the Europa League semi-finals.
He was club captain in his final season under Unai Emery, but forced through an exit after the club went back on a gentlemen’s agreement they made to let him leave. He refused to join the squad on their pre-season tour, and eventually moved to Bordeaux after a sour ending in North London.
Fans were on his side until his announcement video at Bordeaux was released, which saw him take off an Arsenal shirt to reveal a Bordeaux kit, which caused anger amongst Arsenal fans. Once an incredibly popular figure at the Emirates, his nightmare ending saw him lose a lot of love in North London.
Koscielny would last three seasons at Bordeaux before retiring, and is now director of his former side FC Lorient.
Mathieu Debuchy
Arsenal needed a replacement for Bacary Sagna in 2014, and signed hard-tackling right-back Mathieu Debuchy from Newcastle United.
The French International initially impressed but was struck down by injuries, and the emergence of Hector Bellerin saw him lose his place.
Debuchy went on loan to Bordeaux for the second half of the 2015-16 season, just a year and a half after he joined Arsenal, in search of regular game time, and appeared nine times before returning to North London and hardly featuring again.
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