I was signed by Arsenal to cover injury crisis despite having a broken back

Kim Kallstrom, however, might not be at the top of anyone's list thanks to an uninspiring spell on loan in 2014 where he made just four appearances.

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In the dying hours of the winter transfer window, Arsenal made the bizarre move to sign the Swedish midfielder, who was at Spartak Moscow at the time.

An injury crisis forced Wenger's hand having not signed a single player up until Deadline Day with Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky and Aaron Ramsey all taking hits.

The Gunners were involved in a title race with Manchester City and needed reinforcements badly.

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But the arrival of Kallstrom hardly heralded the boost Arsenal needed to take Manuel Pellegrini's men all the way - mainly because he was also injured for most of his stay at the Emirates.

In fact, he did not even make his debut until two months after his arrival on January 31 due to a back problem.

Speaking to Arsenal's website in 2020, the former Lyon star laughed about his situation at the club.

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He said: "Hey, remember me? It's Kim Kallstrom but you might know me as the guy with the broken back.

"It's OK, I can laugh about it now! Because my time at Arsenal was very special for me and even though it was very short, I see it as a couple of months of great fun.

"It's a time that really made my career a little better, a little funnier and it's given me some great stories to tell.

"I met some great people, worked for a great coach and got to play for an incredible club."

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Kallstrom was renowned as a free-kick specialist and had a penchant for outrageous goals but he suffered an injury just before he was set to sign for the club.

Despite going through with a medical, Arsenal took the risk anyway, a gamble that would go on to backfire.

Kallstrom added: "Lots of people think they know about this injury but let me explain it properly.

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"We were training on the beach - this is so embarrassing - and it was a proper training session too, not just one for fun.

"I say it was a beach, it was more like concrete. Anyway, we had a game there and I fell badly on a small rock.

"I hit my back and had some pain. Obviously, we were due to go back to Moscow the day after so we didn't do any medical check-up there because it wasn't too bad at the time.

"We informed Arsenal straight away that I had a problem with my back and that I had no idea what it was, so they just told me to come along anyway.

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"It was a bit of a blur because the deal had to be done quickly.

"I thought the transfer would've been off because I was injured but we worked out a deal between the clubs that said I could stay. "

Despite making just four appearances - totalling just 135 minutes of action - the midfielder insists his time at Arsenal was a success.

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He was part of the squad that won the FA Cup that season, despite not playing in the final, and was awarded a medal.

The playmaker scored a penalty against Wigan in the semi-final, having come on seven minutes before full-time.

"I came to London, we had the medical and we found out there were some problems but we arranged the deal anyway," Kallstrom added.

"It was really the last few minutes of the transfer window so either they signed me with a bad back, or they didn't sign anyone because there wasn't any time left.

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"That's why they took a chance on me and in the end it worked out quite well."