AN ARSENAL flop admitted he looks back at his failed spell with the Gunners with "a lot of regrets" as he never fulfilled his potential. The North Londoners ruled the Premier League in the early 2000s along with then bitter rivals Manchester United. That was when legendary manager Arsene Wenger decided to bring one of the Prem's most exciting strikers over to Highbury in 2001. That was none other than Francis Jeffers, who shone bright with his beloved Everton the previous four years that saw him registering a total of 18 goals and one assist in 55 appearances.
![[Francis Jeffers, Arsenal player, in action.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/francis-jeffers-arsenal-action-sony-329670241.jpg?strip=all&w=587)
However, Jeffers never lived up to the bill as he only managed eight goals and three assists in 39 appearances throughout his three-year stint with Arsenal, who loaned him back to the Toffees in 2003. The former striker conceded that he didn't work hard enough in training and would instead go out partying. The ex-England international downed tools as he thought he wouldn't play anyway, with the likes of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Sylvain Wiltord and Nwankwo Kanu ahead of him in the pecking order.
![[Arsenal's Francis Jeffers and Thierry Henry celebrating a goal.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/arsenals-francis-jeffers-right-celebrates-3400350.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
That is why Wenger gave him a "fair crack of the whip", which he insists was very well-deserved as he put him back in his place. Nevertheless, the ex-Charlton ace is adamant he didn't "throw it all away" as he realised a lot of dreams throughout his career. Jeffers told The Independent back in 2014: "I was out partying, living life, tossing it off in training because I always thought I wouldn’t play Saturday anyway.
"Now, I look back with a lot of regrets. That is where I should have been putting it in more. Wenger gave me a fair crack of the whip. "I haven’t got a bad word to say about him. He tells you how it is, one of the only managers I played for who did. “He said there were things going on in my head that shouldn’t have been and that it was an important time in my career. I am not saying I threw it all away, because I had a decent career.
