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Owned by American businessman Stan Kroenke, Arsenal are one of the richest clubs in the world and therefore have plenty of players on high wages. While the club's owner has often been accused of lack of investment, he has brought some world-class players to the Emirates.
Arsenal were the highest spenders in the transfer window this summer, spending around £142 million to bring in several new players at the club. These players have all caused a significant bump in the Gunners' wage bill, which is now the fifth-highest in the Premier League.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the highest paid player at Arsenal, taking home wages of £250,000-a-week. Thomas Partey comes in behind the striker with £200,000-a-week in wages while Alexandre Lacazette is third bagging in £182,000-a-week. New signing Ben White is on a salary of £120,000-a-week.
Several Arsenal players have failed to justify their wages
While some players at Arsenal have proven their value for money, others have failed to do so. These players have taken in hefty wages from the club's budget but have not been able to prove their worth on the pitch for the Gunners.
As such, we take a look at five such players who have so far failed to justify their wages at Arsenal:
#5 Pablo Mari - £85,000
Signed from Flamengo at the start of last season for a fee of around £5 million, Pablo Mari has not been able to make an impact in London. The defender managed to make just 18 appearances in all competitions last season, having spent the majority of the spell on the sidelines with injury.
The centre-back started the opening two games of the ongoing season but was unconvincing on both occasions as Arsenal slumped to consecutive defeats. He has subsequently been replaced by Gabriel Magalhaes at the heart of Arsenal's defense.
With the arrival of Ben White and Gabriel showing good form, Mari has become a second-choice defender at the club. Rob Holding is also seemingly ahead of the Spaniard, meaning weekly wages of £85,000 are definitely a bit too much for a backup.
Especially considering the fact that the likes of Gabriel and Rob Holding are on weekly wages of £50,000 and £40,000 only, despite their contributions at the club.
#4 Gabriel Martinelli - £90,000
While many Arsenal fans might not agree with this, Gabriel Martinelli does seem to be one of the players who has failed to justify his wages so far. This is simply due to the fact that the youngster has not played enough since joining Arsenal to warrant £90,000-a-week wages.
Martinelli arrived at the Emirates in 2019 from Brazilian club Ituano for a fee of around £6 million. Since then the Brazilian has managed to play just 30 Premier League games for the Gunners, with 20-year-old coming on as a substitute in half of those games.
Martinelli has mostly been used in cup and Europa League games where he has performed well on several occasions.
Nevertheless, with first-team regulars like Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith-Rowe earning less than Martinelli, it feels like his £90,000-a-week wages are not justified.
#3 Sead Kolasinac - £100,000
It's surprising to see that Sead Kolasinac is still an Arsenal player, with the out-of-favour Bosnian taking home £100,000-a-week in wages.
After a disastrous loan spell at Schalke, Kolisnac returned to Arsenal in the summer. Schalke suffered an embarrassing relegation after 30 years in the German top-flight last season, with Kolasinac adding to their poor defensive showing.
The left-back looked certain to depart Arsenal this summer, but the club were unable to offload him during the transfer window. Even more surprising was the fact that Mikel Arteta gave the left-back his first Premier League start since September 2020 against Manchester City.
As expected, Kolasinac failed to inspire Arsenal's defense as the Gunners conceded five goals against the Premier League champions.
The recent arrivals of Takehiro Tomiyasu and Nuno Tavares means that the Gunners have enough cover in all departments Kolasinac can be deployed at. They would definitely be keen to offload him as soon as possible to free up the £100,000-a-week in wages.
#2 Nicolas Pepe - £140,000
Arsenal broke their transfer record to sign Nicolas Pepe from Lille in 2019. The Ivorian joined the Gunners in a deal worth £72 million with wages of £140,000-a-week. But Pepe has done little to justify his wages so far.
He has often been criticized by fans and pundits alike, with 26-year-old failing to make any impact in big games.
Pepe did show a slight improvement last season, with the winger scoring 16 goals and assisting a further five in 47 games across all competitions. But he was inconsistent throughout the campaign and failed to replicate the form he reached in Lille.
The Arsenal star has certainly not done enough to justify the wages he is currently being paid. However, Gunners' fans will be hoping the winger can perform well this season and show why the club pay such huge wages to him.
#1 Alexandre Lacazette - £182,000
Alexandre Lacazette arrived at Arsenal with a big reputation. The forward was signed for £48 milion in 2017 and was seen as a direct replacement for Olivier Giroud.
Scoring less than two minutes into his Premier League debut, it appeared to be the start of a goal-laden career for Lacazette at Arsenal.
However, the forward has failed to score more than 14 goals in a single league season and has never been able to surpass more than 19 overall. He has often lacked conviction in front of goal and has been blighted by injuries during his time at the Emirates.
A paltry return of 65 goals in four seasons does not justify his sky-high wages of £182,000-a-week, which makes him the third-highest paid player at the club.
Arsenal were looking to offload Lacazette in the summer but his huge wages proved to be a big problem for the Gunners in finding a club. With his contract set to expire next summer, it looks like Lacazette will leave on a free transfer.
