Arsenal

Arsenal

Premier League • England

The 10 most expensive Arsenal sales of all time, featuring two Barcelona deals

Cesc Fabregas, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Emile Smith Rowe playing for Arsenal

Cesc Fabregas, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Emile Smith Rowe all left Arsenal in big-money deals

Arsenal have sold a few world-class players over the years, and in return the Gunners have received some huge sums of money.

Rival clubs poached their star players during the final years of Arsene Wenger’s reign, although they are now able to keep hold of their biggest assets.

We’ve taken a look at the 10 most expensive sales in Arsenal’s history and how those players fared after leaving the club.

While we’ve mentioned the potential add-ons in any deal, we’ve ranked the players by their initial transfer fees.

Note: we’ve not included Alexis Sanchez, who joined Manchester United in an infamous swap deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan move in the opposite direction without any money being exchanged.

10. Nicolas Anelka – £22.3m

Anelka joined Arsenal from Paris Saint-Germain for just £500,000 in February 1997 and won the Premier League and FA Cup double in his first full season.

He also picked up the PFA Young Player of the Year award in 1998/99 but his time in north London came to an acrimonious end when he forced through a transfer to Real Madrid, who paid £22.3million for his services.

While the France international did win the Champions League in 1999/00, he scored just seven goals in all competitions and was sold to PSG after one solitary season at Madrid.

Arsenal, meanwhile, used the funds from Anelka’s sale to build a new training ground and sign Thierry Henry from Juventus.

9. Robin van Persie – £22.5m

Van Persie won the Premier League Golden Boot and the PFA Player of the Year award in 2011/12 after netting 30 goals in 38 league appearances for Arsenal.

But he refused to sign a new contract in the summer of 2012, forcing the Gunners to cash in on a player who had just one year left on his deal.

Manchester United took advantage of the situation, signing the former Netherlands international in a deal worth an initial £22.5million and another £1.5million in potential add-ons.

He netted 30 goals in all competitions in his debut season at United, winning the Premier League title and another Golden Boot. The striker spent another two years at Old Trafford before joining Fenerbahce in 2015.

8= Emmanuel Adebayor – £25m

Adebayor scored 30 goals for Arsenal in 2007/08 but failed to replicate that form in the following campaign and was sold to Manchester City in a £25million deal.

“An offer came in for me and, as I understand it, Arsene [Wenger] and the club accepted the offer the same day,” Adebayor said.

“It wasn’t my fault I left, it was Arsene who wanted to accept the offer for me. I wasn’t making any comments in the press about wanting to leave or being unhappy.”

The striker scored 14 goals in his debut season at City, including one against his former employers which he celebrated by running the length of the pitch to knee slide in front of the away end.

But he fell out of favour following Roberto Mancini’s arrival and had loan spells at Real Madrid and Tottenham before joining the latter on a permanent deal.

8= Samir Nasri – £25m

Having signed Adebayor and Kolo Toure in 2009, Manchester City completed another raid on Arsenal in the summer of 2011 by signing Nasri and Gael Clichy.

City spent a total of £32million on the duo and the bulk of that outlay was reserved for Nasri, who cost a reported £25million.

The former France international showed glimpses of his outstanding talent at the Etihad and won two Premier League titles, but he also struggled with inconsistency and was sold to Turkish side Antalyaspor in 2017.

8= Marc Overmars – £25m

Overmars enjoyed a brilliant debut season at Arsenal in 1997/98, helping the Gunners win the Premier League title and the FA Cup.

The former Netherlands international spent another two years in north London before joining Barcelona in a £25million deal in the summer of 2000.

He was tasked with filling the void left by Luis Figo’s departure, but the winger failed to replicate his Arsenal form in a Barcelona shirt.

His time at Camp Nou was also plagued by a persistent knee injury, which forced him to retire at the end of the 2003/04 season.

5. Cesc Fabregas – £25.4m

Fabregas left the Barcelona academy to sign for Arsenal in the summer of 2003 and developed into one of the best midfielders in the world.

After years of speculation, Barcelona spent an initial £25.4million and another £4.4million on potential add-ons to bring their academy graduate back to the club in 2011.

The former Spain international won a La Liga title and the Copa del Rey over the following three seasons, but he joined Chelsea in 2014 after failing to break up the iconic midfield trio of Sergio Busquets, Xavi and Andres Iniesta.

“If it wasn’t Barcelona, for sure, I would have stayed at Arsenal. No matter what,” he said when reflecting on his departure.

“I think timing is always so important in football. Looking back now, probably I should have waited a little bit more until Xavi faded a little bit more – and just go there and take over his place.”

4. Folarin Balogun – £25.7m

One of three Arsenal academy graduates on this list, Balogun impressed at youth level but made just 10 first-team appearances for the Gunners.

The striker enjoyed a successful loan spell at Stade de Reims in the 2022/23 season, scoring 22 goals in 39 appearances in all competitions.

Monaco brought him back to Ligue 1 after agreeing to pay Arsenal an initial £25.7million and another £8.7million in potential add-ons.

But the 23-year-old USA international is yet to justify that price tag as he netted just eight goals in all competitions in his debut season.

3. Emile Smith Rowe – £27m

After starting just three Premier League games in the 2023/24 season, Smith Rowe decided to leave Arsenal in search of regular first-team football.

The 24-year-old signed a five-year contract at Fulham and the Gunners received a fee of an initial £27million, which could rise to £34million with potential add-ons.

“Emile’s commitment, attitude and energy every day was first class, always stepping up when the team needed him,” Mikel Arteta said.

“He came into the first team and was instrumental during a difficult moment for us. He created an important impression, with his strong performances making our supporters proud.

“I’m sad that Emile is leaving us, but excited for him to take this new opportunity at this stage of his career, when he needs to be starting matches and playing regularly.”

2. Alex Iwobi – £28m

Iwobi made 149 appearances for Arsenal but fell down the pecking order following the big-money arrival of Nicolas Pepe in the summer of 2019.

The Nigeria international left his boyhood club and joined Everton in a deal worth an initial £28million and another £6million in potential add-ons.

He overcame a difficult start to his Goodison Park career and won Everton’s Players’ Player of the Season award in 2022/23.

The 28-year-old completed a £22million move to Fulham in the summer of 2023 and is now playing alongside Emile Smith Rowe once again.

1. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – £35m

Oxlade-Chamberlain became frustrated at Arsenal following his switch to a wing-back role at the end of the 2016/17 season and turned down a £180,000-a-week contract to stay with the Gunners.

He also rejected a £40million move to Chelsea before joining Liverpool on transfer deadline day in a deal worth an initial £35million and another £5million in potential add-ons.

The England international enjoyed a trophy-laden spell on Merseyside, winning the Premier League, Champions League, League Cup, UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA World Club Cup.

But his six years at Anfield were also plagued by a number of injury problems, which restricted him to 146 appearances in all competitions.

READ MORE: Mikel Merino next: Ranking every player Arsenal have signed from La Liga from worst to best

Arsenal Emile Smith Rowe

Related Articles