Arsenal and its riches: With the ongoing mindless splurge of money in football that witnesses insane amounts being dropped and rolled in the roster, we have forgotten how things used to be administered in the early days of the sport.
Players have been handsomely rewarded for their efforts on the field and with every passing year, it seems that their costs keep on increasing. There is no end to the inflation and for some reason, it has created an unwanted difference between the player in the higher price brackets and the players who are new to the field.
Being a club of salient influence in the Premier League and with an enviable legacy over the club’s glittering antiquity, it has made a few lucrative transfers that have propelled the likes of the club to the pedestal of being one of the reckoning forces of Europe.
In this story, we will be taking a look at ten footballers who were roped in by Arsenal at a staggering price and went onto make a more or less significant impact on the club’s fabric. However, here is a twist. This entire story has been forged based on the reports of AFTV where the metrics of the calculations have been very well put.
Let us all take a quick look at the costliest purchases by the Gunners.
#10 Francis Jeffers
An impressive stint at the Goodison Park compelled Arsenal to spend a small fortune on this English striker. Jeffers managed to make a lot of boxes tick at Everton but as soon as he landed at the Emirates, he fell a million miles short of his famous nickname “fox in the box” and was plagued by countless injuries.
His contributions for the Gunners were very limited as over a span of 4 years, all he could manage was 22 appearances and 4 goals. He was bought for a price of £8 million with £2 million of add-ons in June 2001. This same amount calculated with the inflation will range up to £44.99 million in today’s world.
#9 Thomas Partey
Partey’s scintillating stint with Atletico Madrid made him a reckoning force in Europe. Arsenal arrived calling for this Ghanaian midfielder in the immediate future and being candid Partey is still to come close to his impressive stature for Atletico.
He has played in 24 matches and is still to open his account and bringing together the cumulative display in the midfield, he is not one of the stars yet that Arsenal was hoping he would turn out to be. He was purchased for an amount of £45 million in October 2020 which will remain equivalent to an almost similar figure given the recent surge in his career.
#8 Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Van Bronckhorst had an impressive resume in his football days. The man plied his trade for Arsenal, Feyenoord and Barcelona and almost all of the clubs had an equal share of his brilliance. He produced the most scintillating stint for the Catalans with an appearance in 105 matches. For arsenal he featured in 42 games, scoring 2 goals and stringing a handful of assists. He was roped in for a price of £8 million in June 2001.
Going by the current rate of inflation, that amount would have ranged somewhere close to £45.27 million in the current day.
#7 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
In the current days plagued by mediocrity and modesty, if there has been one man who has been the pennant-bearer for Arsenal, it has been Auba. He has been in prolific goal-scoring form ever since his arrival at the Emirates and he still continues with the reckless onslaught whenever he is playing for the Gunners.
Arriving from Borussia Dortmund in 2018 for a then club-record fee of £56 million, he has so far starred in 114 matches for the Premier League elites and has fired 64 times. The fee at which he was bought will now be close to £45.51 million, given the fluctuations of the prices and performances at the same time.
#6 Marc Overmars
The Dutch footballers way back in the 1990 footballing antiquity were an exotic species of players to be savoured. Hailing from that iconic era, Marc Overmars left behind an impressive legacy at the Emirates. He joined Arsenal in June 1997, riding on the back of a majestic season for Ajax. He was roped in for a price of £7 million.
The man went on to set Emirates ablaze with an extraordinary brand of football that also saw him grabbing 25 goals for the Gunners from 100 appearances. Overmars played a crucial role for Ajax, Arsenal and Barcelona that was laced with his brilliance for his country. The price of £7 million that Arsenal purchased him for will be somewhere close to £49.6 million in the present day.
#5 Mesut Ozil
Ozil was a gigantic creator for Arsenal as he went to string a whopping 55 assists in the Premier League and the gentry of attack that he brought along with himself to the Emirates was absolutely irresistible for the fans. After impressing at Schalke and Werder Bremen, Real Madrid roped this young lad in.
Setting la Liga ablaze with his extraordinary brand of selfless and impeccable football, Ozil fell on the radar of Arsenal. He was roped in on September 2nd, 2013 and he went on to play for a staggering 8 seasons for the club. The amount dished out for his purchase was £42.1 million in 2013 and in the current day’s glam of overwhelming sum being splurged, his price would have been somewhere close to £52.22 million.
#4 Dennis Bergkamp
Another Dutch maestro from the 1990’s iconic era, Dennis Bergkamp boasted of one of the most sumptuous first touches in the history of football. The man could insane amount of workload and would carve open magical opportunities from pragmatically very slender and acute situations.
After dishing out a couple of gorgeous seasons for Ajax and Internazionale, he arrived at the Emirates. Ever since his footfall, he set the stadium on fire with a brand of unprecedented football. He was roped in for a price of £7.5 million at the Emirates which would now be close to almost £53.14 million.
#3 Nicolas Pepe
Nicolas Pepe has been an absolute sensation ever since his inception in football. Irrespective of his age and destination, Pepe’s statistics have been extremely lucrative for anyone to put down. However, his most impressive season arrived for Lille after which Arsenal came knocking.
However, his days at Arsenal haven’t been as bright as one would have expected from this Ivorian footballer, especially because of the price tag that this man has come with. He has so far starred in 60 matches for Arsenal and could only score 15 goals which are below his standard yardstick. He was purchased from Lille for a staggering £72 million that amounted to £79 million with add-ons in 2019. However, his declining performances and the current rate of transfers will bring the amount down to £62.71 in today’s price.
#2 Sylvain Wiltord
Another burning star in the sky of Arsenal, Sylvain Wiltord pumped in a phenomenal showdown for the Gunners. He came to Emirates from Bordeaux after a sizzling stint. He didn’t disappoint Arsenal either, as he conjured 31 strikes from 106 matches and a string of incredible assists to underline his clinical brilliance.
He arrived at Emirates at a staggering club-record fee back then which read £13 million in 2000. If you would change it to amount in the current days, the same amount will skyrocket to £73.11 million.
#1 Thierry Henry
Whenever we are talking about Arsenal, Henry will most likely be acing all the charts when it comes to price or attacks. He was a wizard up ahead for the Gunners and the gentry of football that he played made him an untenable force against any opposition.
After a silent year at Juventus, Arsenal landed the French sensation and the rest they say is history. He featured in 254 matches that saw him producing 174 goals and 80 Premier League assists. He arrived at Arsenal in 1999 for a price of £10.5 million which will now range close to £74.4 million, making him the best buy in terms of numbers and also the most expensive buys of Arsenal.
