Liverpool will reportedly sell Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen for £35million, which would be a club-record sale for Arsenal. That’s a bit embarrassing, innit?
The Gunners’ inability to squeeze every last penny out of a sale is definitely one of the key things that separates them from Liverpool and Manchester City.
The latter have a knack for flogging youth players you’ve never heard of — or maybe seen their name once in a Carabao Cup line-up — for well above their perceived market value, while the Reds are so good at offloading squad players it makes you wonder if it’s even ethical. Obviously it is, but still, it’s mind-blowing.
Quansah for £35m isn’t an especially eyebrow-raising sale, but it would still be a record signing for Bayer Leverkusen. It’s more of a ‘Listen, fair play’ than a ‘How the f**k?’ — unlike the sales of Jordon Ibe, Danny Ward and Dominic Solanke in years gone by.
With the Quansah deal in mind, here are Arsenal’s five most expensive sales, which are absolutely shamed by the Premier League champions.
1) Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (£35m)
The slight caveat with the Quansah deal is that it would match Arsenal’s club-record sale rather than surpass it, which technically still means it would be their joint-record.
Funnily enough, that bar was set by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who was sold to Liverpool for £35m in 2017.
Still only 31, the former Southampton youth product is now playing under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Besiktas in the Turkish Super Lig. Naturally.
The 35-cap England international left Arsenal in search of a more natural role, having been thrust into wing-back duties during the tail end of 2016/17. Arsene Wenger had switched to a back three and somehow discovered an elite wing-back in Oxlade-Chamberlain, who played a huge part in the FA Cup semi-final and final wins over Man City and Chelsea – but it wasn’t where he wanted to play.
He featured in a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield on matchday three of the 2017/18 season, which was his final Arsenal appearance before promptly joining the Reds for a record £35m.
While it’s faintly embarrassing that this still stands as Arsenal’s biggest-ever sale, it wasn’t necessarily a bad one. The Ox was injury-prone, and that remained the theme of his Anfield career. Even when fit, he never quite looked like a £35m footballer. But he was still a well-liked figure at Liverpool.
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2) Alex Iwobi (£28m)
When Arsenal got £28m (potentially rising to £34m) from Everton for Iwobi, fans were stunned…in a good way. It was a rare moment of shrewd business from a club more often known for panicking and handing out bargains.
There was never any question about Iwobi’s technical ability, but the lack of conviction and end product often left Arsenal fans frustrated. So when the sale went through, it was celebrated as a rare masterstroke by the club’s transfer team.
But in classic Arsenal fashion, Iwobi has sort of gone on to justify the fee. Things started slowly at Goodison Park, but he eventually developed into a very effective box-to-box midfielder under Frank Lampard, before moving to Fulham for around £22m.
Back in London, he’s done well, contributing 15 goals in 38 Premier League matches last season. So maybe not quite the robbery it once looked.
3) Emile Smith Rowe (£27m)
Again, Arsenal did pretty well to get as much as they did for Smith Rowe. He was clearly out of favour, frequently injured, and into the final two years of his contract, yet the Gunners still managed to bank close to £30m.
This was one that tugged on the heartstrings. Arsenal fans adored Smith Rowe, and even his biggest supporters (myself included) knew it was the right decision for everyone involved. Tough to see him go, but he left with our blessing and best wishes.
Incidentally, most of the deals on this list are actually decent sales; it’s just remarkable how low Arsenal’s record sale remains. So many superstars have graced the Emirates, but by the time they were sold, they were either past their best or the club was too desperate to cash in.
Then you’ve got players like Samir Nasri, who simply left in the wrong era. If he were around today, you’d be looking at a £60m transfer.
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4) Folarin Balogun (£25.7m)
Balogun consistently impressed at youth level for Arsenal but never managed to make his mark in the first team. A 2022 loan at Middlesbrough did little to boost his credentials, and he was promptly shipped off to Stade Reims for the 2022/23 season.
As we all know, he absolutely thrived in France, scoring 21 goals in 37 Ligue 1 games.
With just two Premier League appearances to his name but a stock high enough to fetch a club-record fee, Balogun was either going to stay and compete with Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah — hardly the most daunting task — or leave for big money.
In the end, he left…for modest money. Arsenal reportedly wanted around £40m, but AS Monaco drove them all the way down to £25.7m. Some reports suggest the fee could rise to £34m, which still feels a bit meh.
Then again, it was just one season of consistent goalscoring, so you can understand the reluctance to go all in. Still, Arsenal’s well-established inability to sell well was on full display.
5) Eddie Nketiah (£25m)
There are £5m in performance-related add-ons included in Nketiah’s move to Crystal Palace, so it could end up as Arsenal’s second-biggest sale. For all we know, it already is. The overriding point is: this transfer belongs here.
There’s a clear theme running through this list: homegrown players. Four of the five came through the Hale End academy, and the odd one out (Oxlade-Chamberlain) joined from Southampton aged 17.
Nketiah started slowly at Palace and played second fiddle to Jean-Philippe Mateta for most of the 2024/25 season, but when given a run in the side, he gradually improved and did alright in the latter stages.
Still, Arsenal did pretty well here. Now it’s up to Andrea Berta to prove he’s better at this whole selling thing than Edu Gaspar. If Jarell Quansah is worth £34m, he should be telling any clubs sniffing around Jakub Kiwior to cough up at least £50m. The Pole might not be worth that much to you, but clubs across Europe constantly use transfer fees as benchmarks and Arsenal should be doing the same. There’s no reason they shouldn’t already.
We’re already looking forward to Oleksandr Zinchenko’s £8m move to AC Milan and Reiss Nelson’s contract termination.
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