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The most expensive Arsenal team ever signed, from record-breaking Declan Rice to eight-figure failures like Nicolas Pépé.
As we spin through the frantic festive period, we have to acknowledge that the Premier League really does reflect the true message of Christmas – that spending colossal amounts of money is to be encouraged. And in a league where few clubs are shy of splashing the cash, Arsenal are among the most Christmassy of the lot.
We’ve rifled through the record books to figure out the most expensive team of players that money can and did buy for the Gunners, from the former Brentford man who became their priciest goalkeeper to some strikers who cost a bomb and delivered rather different end results.
This a proper, functional team in a recognisable system, not Garth Crooks’ Team of the Week, which is why Gabriel Jesus, for instance, doesn’t make the cut despite being among the club’s biggest signings. Anyway, let’s just say that our 4-2-3-1 offers up a bit of a mixed bag…
GK: David Raya (£27m)
Apart from a Mr. A. Ramsdale, very few people would criticise the cash spent to bring the Spanish goalkeeper to the Emirates – he’s firmly established himself as one of the best shot-stoppers in the Premier League, his distribution is sharp and he seldom lets anything get past him too easily. Among the most expensive number ones in the league, but also one of the best.
LB: Riccardo Calafiori (£38m)
The Italian summer signing pips Oleksandr Zinchenko to the left-back slot, and while it’s a little bit too early to judge whether he’s worth the hefty sum paid to secure his services, we do have his gorgeous goal against Manchester City as evidence that he will, if nothing else, be fun to watch.
CB: Jurriën Timber (£34m)
Thanks to a horrible injury right at the start of last season, we’re still waiting for a verdict on Timber, too, although there have been sign of confidence, comfort and capability so far this campaign. And to tell the truth, by modern, big club standards, none of these defenders are even remarkably expensive. Still, the fact that they all cost more than William Saliba suggests that it’s possible to do better, however good players like Calafiori and Timber end up.
CB: Shkodran Mustafi (£35m)
Our first expensive whiff of this starting eleven, Mustafi arrived with an impressive reputation but was never convincing and earned a reputation for blunders over his five years with the club. The most expensive centre-back in Gunners history isn’t the worst, but he’s a lot closer to the worst than anyone involved in the deal can possibly be comfortable with.
RB: Ben White (£50m)
When he arrived from Leeds United in 2021, White became not only the most expensive defender in Arsenal history, but also the most expensive player in the history of the game who doesn’t actually like football. Fortunately, he’s still pretty good at it, and is well on his way to paying off that hefty initial investment.
CM: Declan Rice (£105m)
Arsenal’s record signing by some distance, the Gunners crossed the nine-figure line for the first time last summer when they brought the Rolls Royce midfielder across from the East End and don’t seem to have regretted it so far – the power, control, and intelligent playmaking his brings to midfield has made everything Mikel Arteta wants to do tick. Admittedly, if Arsenal end up trophyless across this era of the team, this won’t look like such a smart signing in retrospect.
CM: Thomas Partey (£45m)
Arsenal talked themselves into paying the entirety of the Atlético Madrid man’s release clause back in 2020, and he’s been in the squad ever since. At his best, he’s been solid. At his worst, he’s been… well, injured pretty often, in all honesty. Far from the worst signing on this list, but it’s unlikely that he’ll be in many Arsenal fans’ all-time teams.
AM: Kai Havertz (£65m)
Given how badly he struggled at Chelsea, quite a few eyebrows were raised when the German number ten signed for their cross-capital rivals, but he’s settled in well under Mikel Arteta and, so far, looks like a reasonably decent use of a very large amount of money. Which is relatively faint praise, we suppose. He takes the number ten slot here as it’s his natural position, but if you decided he was a striker then the frustrating but immensely talented Mesut Özil would get the nod instead.
LW: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£56m)
It’s not often you spend over £50m and feel like you got a bargain, but that was the case with the Gabonese forward, who racked up 92 goals in five seasons at the club before he started to slow down and was shipped off to Barcelona. A brilliant goalscorer and often scorer of brilliant goals, he goes down as one of Arsenal’s modern greats.
RW: Nicolas Pépé (£72m)
“Fans weren’t really judging my performances, they were judging my price tag”, said Arsenal’s one-time record signing. It was both, Nicolas. They were judging both. The Ivorian winger surely goes down as the worst purchase in the club’s history, even though he did hit double figures in the league in his second season – but it wasn’t enough to prevent him from developing a reputation as a lightweight forward who simply didn’t justify the vast majority of his steepling price tag.
CF: Alexander Lacazette (£47.5m)
The Frenchman was perhaps more consistent that truly prolific, but he passed double figures for four consecutive seasons while offering an imposing presence up front and, alongside Aubameyang, he looked like was worth just about every penny. A great striker or signing? No, but he a rare example of a player who feels like they cost precisely the right amount all the same.
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