It’s three years ago to the day when Arsenal announced that Kieran Gibbs, Carl Jenkinson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere had all signed new long-term contracts. It looked like Arsenal had secured their future, embracing the stability of loyal, British players as the foundation for a revitalised Arsenal.

Fast-forward back to the present day and things haven’t gone quite to plan. With the caveat that most of these players are still relatively young, arguably only Ramsey can claim to be assured of a first-team place. Inconsistency plagues all of the four remaining at Arsenal, and Jenkinson in an Arsenal shirt has faded into a distant memory.

The prognosis probably looks the most alarming for Gibbs. Having recently turned 26, he is nowhere near reclaiming a place from Nacho Monreal, who is the mainstay of defensive stability in the Arsenal back line. He occupies a fragile position on the fringes of the England national team, and has been mainly consigned to 70th-minute substitute appearances this season. Although it is always disappointing for academy talent not to become first-team regulars, it’s difficult to find qualms with Arsene Wenger’s treatment of Gibbs. He has simply not matched Monreal’s consistent 8/10 performances. The only way for him to stand a chance of staking a claim to be first-choice left-back is if his Spanish counterpart suffers a long-term injury or a complete loss of form.

Jenkinson agreed a new five-year contract with Arsenal before he left for his second season on loan with fellow London team West Ham. His performances there have been promising, with rumours that the Hammers are keen to sign him on a permanent deal. Unfortunately, his Arsenal future has been obstructed by the emergence of the fantastic Hector Bellerín. The Spaniard has made astonishing progress and cemented his place in the first team, while being younger and faster than Jenkinson. The positive is that it is likely Mathieu Debuchy will leave in the near future, having comprehensively lost his battle with Bellerín. This opens up a place for Jenkinson as right-back back-up, and it will be interesting to see if Wenger decides to keep Jenkinson or move for a replacement in the summer.

Jack Wilshere’s story is the most interrupted of the lot. After recovering from a Paddy McNair special, the England star suffered from a fractured leg in pre-season, ruling him out for the first four months of the season. In what is becoming a cliché, this season is surely the one where Wilshere needs to stake a claim for first-team action. The last couple of seasons have been mere glimpses of the talent we saw in the 2011/12 campaign. Perhaps this season’s tie against Barcelona will be a chance for him to remind us of why Wenger perseveres with him. Wilshere still has time on his side, but needs a season or two free of injuries under his belt to really drive his career forward and fulfill his potential.

Oxlade-Chamberlain is an enigma of a player, largely due to his lack of defined position. He’s played just about everywhere in the midfield, and his strength, dribbling and speed are assets to the team. The Arsenal midfield is packed full of talented, technical players and he still has some way to go to nail down a starting berth. He’s often been found wanting because of tactical immaturity. Nothing summed this up more than a storming goal in the infamous Monaco home match that revived Arsenal’s hopes. Yet a couple of minutes later, he conceded possession in a dangerous possession and Monaco countered to seal another glorious failure for the Gunners in the knockout rounds of the UEFA Champions League. Although he is prone to the spectacular, has never actually managed to score more than two Premier League goals in a season. Yet, it is easy to forget the Ox is just 22, and still has time to find his position and gain some maturity in his decision-making.

Finally, Aaron Ramsey is probably the most successful British core story of the last three years. He announced himself in the 2013/14 season, discovering a potent scoring touch and developing a phenomenal partnership with both Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud along the way. An injury in December derailed three months of his season and ultimately Arsenal’s title challenge. 2014/15 was a disappointing season, with the Welshman failing to hit the heights of his FA Cup winning goal. The main challenge for Ramsey is to secure the central midfield position, and that partially depends on either finding a way to work with Francis Coquelin or Wenger investing in a new defensive minded midfielder. His all-action box-to-box style is matched with exquisite technical ability, and he’s proved that he can be the future of the Arsenal midfield. Another potential dilemma will come about if Wilshere manages to recover from his injury woes, as Wenger will need to find a way to play both without stifling each other.

The British core is packed with potential, but the last three years have been a disappointing reminder that sometimes potential just isn’t enough. Wenger has strengthened the British contingent since then, adding Calum Chambers and Danny Welbeck but they’ve also been plagued by inconsistency, injury and being outperformed by their foreign counterparts. Fortunately, just about all the British players have time on their side and the prospect of an Arsenal team built on a foundation of England and Wales is still not a far-fetched possibility.