Could be a controversial thread but most of those named are players I once loved to watch for Arsenal, at least until the worm turned.
There's something I've been enjoying about this relatively untarnished, young side over the past couple of months this season: whatever their merits as footballers, we're often fielding a whole XI and bench with not a single player I view with distaste.
With characters like Özil, Xhaka, Willian, Luiz, Mkhitaryan and going back Bendtner, Van Persie, Chamakh, Almunia, Nasri, Denilson, Adebayor, Gallas and others, rightly or wrongly I've often seen one or two players pulling on the shirt who I didn't love to see wearing it, or disliked pretty venomously after his departure. Others whose character ended up a bit in question, like Fabregas … it gets exhausting.
It was hard to vibe when Özil was banished and arcing up sarcastically on social media like a fish-faced clown. And now I love that he's gone. Others who were less egregiously annoying still carried the taint of rival clubs, nuisance on-pitch behaviours, frustrating play, or unprofessionalism.
For the time being, players running out for us like Tomiyasu, Gabriel, Partey, Ramsdale, Smith Rowe, Saka and Ødegaard are all really likeable, beyond not being dickheads. They're fostering something good and you can see the positive effect on some of the older hands too.
Maybe it's the humility of some pretty difficult seasons and the pleasure of being on a little run, but it's heart-warming to watch an Arsenal side packed with developing talents and be in a moment where we're witnessing emergent team spirit. Eventually this will change for some players we've got on the books, but I'm grateful we've shifted out many of the ne'er-do-wells, outsider critics and unregulated egos of the past and brought in some good lads.
