Francis Jeffers claims he regrets his fruitless Arsenal career owing to a lack of hard work and excessive partying.
Misfit Jeffers discusses his unmet potential and early exit from Everton as a setback to his career.
Despite his failings, Jeffers loves what Wenger taught him and plans to coach after retirement.
An Arsenal misfit once admitted that he looked back on his ill-fated time with the Gunners with “a lot of regrets,” knowing he never quite became the well-oiled cog Arsene Wenger had envisioned for his title-winning machine of the early 2000s. In football’s wilder years, the distinction between a rockstar and a footballer was as hazy as a late-night afterparty, and for some, the lure of excess was too much to bear.
At their heyday, the Gunners ruled England in an arrogant manner, deposing Sir Alex Ferguson’s dynasty and painting the Premier League north London red. Success brought glory, cutlery and champagne-soaked nights, but while some players knew how to blend the grind and the glamour, others became lost in the spotlight. Between 2001 and 2005, Arsenal won two Premier League crowns, three FA Cups, and two Community Shields – a period of supremacy that required both skill and unwavering commitment.
So, when Wenger gambled on one of the league’s most electric strikers in 2001, it appeared to be a brilliant move. However, rather of lighting up Highbury, the forward’s entrance was like throwing a live grenade into a powder keg. His party-first, train-later attitude clashed with a team founded on discipline and a tireless work ethic. While his comrades ran into the ground, he was occupied dancing on tables, and his career was quickly over.
Francis Jeffers Reflects on “Wasted” Arsenal Stint
He was a star in the Everton lineup but failed to live up to his billing in London
Francis Jeffers shone strongly for his beloved Everton in the four years that preceded his move to north London. In 55 games, the enigmatic Liverpudlian scored 18 goals and assisted once. Jeffers, on the other hand, failed to live up to his star status, scoring only eight goals and providing three assists in 39 games for Arsenal across three years.
Struggling to make an impression, the Gunners eventually loaned him back to the Toffees in 2003. In a 2014 interview with The Independents, the retired striker admitted that he didn’t work hard enough in training and would rather go out partying, ten years after blowing his chance to put his name up in lights.
As one of England’s infamous one-cap wonders, the attacker believed he had no chance of reaching the starting eleven because Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry were already dominating Arsenal’s final third. He said:
“I was out partying, living life and slacking off in practice since I always assumed I wouldn’t play Saturday anyhow. Now I look back with a lot of regret. That’s where I should have put it more. Wenger gave me a fair lash at the whip. I don’t have anything awful to say about him. He’s one of the few managers I’ve worked with who tells it like it is.
Jeffers retains He had a good career.
The retiring attacker refuses to think that his Arsenal move was all despair and gloom.
It is critical to focus on the positives in difficult situations. In addition to the remarks above concerning what Wenger told him, he went on to say: “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’m not saying I threw it all away; I had a decent career. I achieved many of my goals, but as I often say, I am aware of my abilities. I am not soft. I know how good of a player I was. “One England cap was not enough.”
Jeffers believes his career could have turned out differently if he had not departed Goodison Park so soon after coming into the first 11. He told Goal: “I have to be honest; looking back on my career, I left [Everton] too soon. [Arsenal] wasn’t the right decision for me, but it was a difficult period since our football club was not what it is today.
“It was a good move for myself and the club at the time, but it came too quickly and was most likely the wrong choice. I went from being a regular at Everton to going down and being unable to make the team.I feel like my head has turned. I was only young. It was challenging because I believed Arsenal were the league’s greatest team at the time. I’d just witnessed them destroy Liverpool in the FA Cup final, but they lost.”
After retiring, Jeffers became a coach, taking over Everton’s under-18 team in 2018. Since then, he has worked at Ipswich Town and Oldham Athletic before moving to Saudi Arabia, where he will join Al Qadsiah alongside Liverpool star Robbie Fowler in 2022. However, after barely four months, his next move remains unknown as he drifts farther into the background.
