Arsenal football club in the Wenger era has often been accused of being a little too meagre in the transfer market. Every transfer window they seem to be linked with a plethora of proven players, yet end up wanting the same thing again and again.
One of the top dogs of the Premier League, Arsenal have a developed a pattern of becoming an ‘almost’ club every time and the fans are getting increasingly frustrated and have blamed the lack of transfer activity for their dearth of trophies. The philosophy has been to look for value-for-money deals and it stays the same.
Arsenal, though, have made some top signings in the last few seasons when Wenger suddenly decided to break the bank after years of being economical.
Let’s have a look at the 10 most expensive Arsenal transfers.
#10 Thierry Henry – €16.1 million
The name is enough to put a smile on a Gooner’s face - the biggest legend the club has ever seen. Thierry Henry was bought from Juventus in 1999 for €16.1 million as a winger. He had his critics but a new faith was bestowed in him by Arsene Wenger. He developed him from the flanks into the world’s hottest striker. He struggled initially and had to wait 7 games to get his first goal and since that he was unstoppable.
Henry scored 30 goals in the ‘Invincibles’ Premiership season in 2003-04, to receive the Golden Boot and Player of the Year awards, helping Arsenal attain the glorious feat. He won 2 league titles and 3 FA Cups with Arsenal, including a double.
Henry was made the captain after Vieira left in 2005 and ended up being the highest goalscorer in the club’s history. He scored 175 goals in the league and 228 overall. Henry finished Arsenal’s Highbury era with a brilliant hattrick in the last game in the stadium, which is one of countless such moments for Arsenal fans to remember.
He returned to Arsenal for a brief loan spell in 2011-12 season scoring the winning goal against Leeds in the FA Cup off the bench. Henry can boast of being a player who has played in a stadium with a statue outside it.
#9 Andrey Arshavin – €16.5 million
After lighting up the Euros in 2008, Arshavin was bought by Arsenal in the winter transfer window of the 2008-09 season for €16.5 million. He was one of the hottest prospects and could play as a second dtriker or a winger, giving Winger the option to switch back to his preferred 4-4-2 formation.
His Arsenal career started brilliantly with him scoring some wonder goals, solo goals from tight angles and at crucial stages. He was proving to be an inspiration and even led the side briefly in the absence of Cesc Fabregas.
Arsenal fans remember him for two spectacular moments in his career - one was when he scored 4 goals at Anfield in a thrilling 4-4 draw against Liverpool and the second, when he came off the bench in the Champions League round of 16 first leg game against Barcelona to score the winner.
#8 Sylvain Wiltord – €17.5 million
Sylvian Wiltord was brought in 2000 from Bordeaux for €17.5 million and went on to play 175 games for Arsenal. He was either paired with Henry or played on the flanks. He was the club record fee at that time and remained so for a very long time.
Wiltord, in his time at Arsenal won back to back FA Cups in 2002 and 2003. He also won 2 league titles, in 2002 and 2004, when Arsenal created history by going an entire Premiership campaign unbeaten. Wiltord is remembered for scoring the only and the winning goal at Old Trafford in 2002 which gave Arsenal the league title after which they won the FA Cup to complete a famous double.
He had lost his place in the starting eleven and Wiltord went back to France to play with Lyon in 2004.
#7 Santiago Cazorla – €19 million
Santi Cazorla was brought to Arsenal from Malaga in the summer of 2012 for €19 million. A technically brilliant midfielder, feared for being truly two-footed with his trickeries and dummies, Cazorla took no time to adjust to English football.
He created a plethora of chances at the No 10 position and created a record by amassing 4 assists in one Premier League game against Wigan. Ozil was signed one year later and Cazorla was pushed out wide but his link-up plays made him equally lethal.
Since 2015, he has been put into a new role in central midfield beside a defensive midfielder and has blossomed in this position. He is the one who controls the play with his passing and fantastic vision, and particularly received accolades for his performance at the Etihad in a 2-0 win over defending champions City.
#6 Danny Welbeck – €20 million
Danny Welbeck, after being a Manchester United boy from youth ran out of favour when Louis Van Gaal took over, and Arsene Wenger decided to splash-the-cash on him on the last day of summer transfer window in 2014 and completed a move worth €20 million.
Welbeck’s 2 years at Arsenal have been marred by injuries, but he has shown promise whenever he has played and became only the third Arsenal player to get a Champions League hat-trick in 2014 against Galatasaray.
He was showing great improvement and was living up to his potential in recent times but has unfortunately been sidelined for another 9 months. Arsenal fans would be hoping for more such moments and a sweet victory from the hard-working Danny Welbeck.
#5 Jose Antonio Reyes – €20 million
Jose Antonio Reyes was bought from Sevilla in the winter transfer window of 2004 for €20 million and had a very mixed stint with Gunners. He started on a high when he single-handedly knocked out neighbouring rivals Chelsea in the FA Cup with 2 screamers.
After showing some good form in 2004-05 season, starting with two hat-tricks in the pre-season and a goal in the first 6 games of the season, things went downhill. He didn’t play in the qualifying CL game in 2006 because he didn’t want to be cup tied with Arsenal and went on a season-long loan to Real Madrid. After which he was sold to Atletico Madrid and now plies his trade with Sevilla.
#4 Calum Chambers – €20.23 million
Calum Chambers was bought from Southampton in the summer transfer window of 2014. He was the second choice right-back at Southampton and was purchased by Wenger as a versatile player who could play as right back, center back or as defensive midfielder.
But he has had much to prove in his two years at Arsenal and hasn’t been settled in any of the positions. The right back position has been taken over by Bellerin and his error-prone performances as a centre back has demoted him to a backup player.
His best moment in an Arsenal shirt was probably when he scored the outside boot screamer in the FA Cup getting the goal of the month for the same.
#3 Granit Xhaka – €30 million
After much clamour from Arsenal fans urging Wenger to sign a defensive midfielder, Arsenal finally broke the bank on Granit Xhaka this summer. After being a top performer with Borussia Monchengladbach in central midfield for the last 4 years, Arsenal fans would be hoping that the Suisse adds the much-needed steel in midfield.makes the
The playing style of Granit Xhaka seemingly makes him a good fit for Arsenal and the Premier League. He is physically strong with good technique, has an eye for the pass and can link up or play from midfield. He himself has said that the Premier League should suit his style of play because he likes to go strongly into his tackles and English football appreciated and celebrates that.
Xhaka had a more than decent campaign with Switzerland in Euros except for the decisive penalty he missed. But the encouraging signs haven’t been unnoticed by Gooners and they would be hoping to finally have a replacement for Vieira that they have always wanted.
#2 Alexis Sanchez – €42.5 million
Alexis Sanchez was signed by Arsenal in the summer transfer window of 2014 and took no time to get into the groove and Wenger himself was pleasantly surprised how quickly he had adjusted to English football. At the beginning of the 2014-15 season he became Arsenal’s sole warrior and ended the season with 25 goals, and won the FA Cup trophy by scoring a screamer.
He had a slight dip in form in the 2015-16 season and was also sidelined due to injury for a couple of months but by the end of the season he was back to the best and showed his best form with Chile in the Copa America.
Arsenal’s go to man has been saying that he is hungry for success; his determination and hard work, visible on the pitch, has always been appreciated by the Gooners and they would be hoping for him and Ozil to have their best season together and finally get them the league.
#1 Mesut Ozil – € 47m
Mesut Ozil had become a darling of Real Madrid in his 3 years there as a number 10. He was labelled the king of assists and as per Wenger’s own admission, he always wanted to sign him. A change in management in Real Madrid and the signing of Gareth Bale meant that Ozil was available in the summer of 2013 and Arsene Wenger wrapped up the deal in the final minutes of the transfer window.
Arsenal fans were in jubilation after finally seeing a big money world class signing which had shattered the club's transfer record. He amassed a staggering 19 assists in the Premier League, one shy of Henry’s record. Ozil has already won back-to-back FA Cups with Arsenal in his first two seasons and in the meanwhile a World Cup with Germany, Arsenal fans would be hoping for their king of assists to continue the streak and get them the trophy they have been waiting for since the last 12 years.
