Arsenal look set to break their recent transfer pattern as they sign 31-year-old Christian Norgaard – but how have the other 30+ year-olds fared?
Reports claim the Gunners have agreed a £10 million fee for the Brentford and Denmark midfielder, but signing players the wrong side of 30 has not always worked out for the North London club.
Here are the previous seven Arsenal have signed and how they fared during their time at the club:
Neto
Having allowed Aaron Ramsdale to go out on loan to Southampton, Arsenal were in need of a goalkeeper so they turned to Bournemouth shot-stopper Neto.
The 35-year-old made 63 appearances for the Cherries and was happy to sign on as the number two to David Raya for a season-long loan.
His appearances were limited to just one, a group stage Champions League game against Girona with Arsenal all but through already, and the loan was not extended.
Jorginho
Having once been considered for the Ballon d’Or, which was less mental at the time than it sounds now, Jorginho left Chelsea in 2023 to join Arsenal for a fee of £12 million.
But with his legs going, his role became less and less. In total, he made 78 appearances for the Gunners over two years but was consigned to the bench as younger blood started to arrive.
The Italian was released this summer at the age of 33 and joined Flamengo in Brazil. He did a job and Arsenal have signed worse.
Willian
Another signing from Chelsea was Willian, who after being one of the best wingers in the league at Stamford Bridge before making the switch across London in 2020.
But just eight goal contributions in 37 games highlighted Willian’s troubles and despite signing a three-year deal, he left after just a single season.
Summing it up, William said it was “the worst time that he had lived as a professional.”
David Luiz
The never-quiet David Luiz made the move from Chelsea to Arsenal in 2019 on deadline day (we refuse to capitalise this) and despite his antics, the Brazilian was an excellent defender on his day.
The problem was his consistency, not helped by being moved from centre back to midfield to suit the team’s needs.
His stint at the Emirates did not match his feats with Chelsea, but Luiz can still be considered a fairly good signing.
Two players to have played for both Arsenal and Chelsea.
QUIZ: Can you name every player to play for Arsenal and Chelsea in the PL?
Sokratis Papastathopoulos
Another defender on this list is Sokratis, who joined Arsenal in the summer of 2018 after a career that included spells at Milan, Werder Bremen and Dortmund,
The Greece international made his debut in a 2-0 loss against Manchester City and became an important part of Unai Emery’s Arsenal, playing 69 times in total.
Trophies were few and far between during that time, but he did win the FA Cup in 2020 with the Gunners before leaving for pastures new.
Stephan Lichtsteiner
Having played 200 league games for Juventus, Arsenal did not pass up on the option to sign veteran defender Lichtsteiner in 2018.
Joining at the age of 34, the Switzerland international was the first signing of the Unai Emery era but played just one season for the club.
During that time, he featured 23 times before moving to Augsburg and retiring in 2020.
Petr Cech
With a young Thibaut Courtois becoming number one, Chelsea were forced to let Cech go in 2015.
The iconic goalkeeper kept a scarcely believable 228 clean sheets for the West London side and, with the player not wanting to leave London, the club allowed him to move to Arsenal.
With the Gunners having not had a steady No. 1 since Jens Lehmann, the signing of Cech was a real coup and paid off with the Golden Glove in his first season.
While at the Emirates, Cech won his fifth FA Cup and in March 2018, he saved a penalty against Watford to become the first Premier League goalkeeper to keep 200 league clean sheets.
The Czech retired after losing 4-1 to his former Chelsea side in the 2019 Europa League final.
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TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every Arsenal player to break their transfer record since 1992?