Arsenal are a team who have managed to pull themselves out of a decade of mediocrity to once again challenge the top teams in world football over the last couple of years.
While Mikel Arteta's coaching and the emergence of youth talents like Bukayo Saka have played a massive part in the rejuvenation, so have intelligent transfer dealings.
The signings of Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli and William Saliba are just some examples of the north Londoners being smart with their money, and the sale of Folarin Balogun last summer shows that they are getting better at selling as well.
Although, it wasn't too hard to become a better selling club, considering they once parted ways with a superstar in the making for just £4m, now worth significantly more than Leandro Trossard.
Leandro Trossard's valuation this season
Trossard's £27m move to Arsenal from Brighton & Hove Albion in January 2023 has to be one of the club's best transfers in a very long time.
At the time, the Belgian was viewed as a backup option for the younger and more exciting Mykhaylo Mudryk, who had just signed for cross-city rivals Chelsea. How times change.
Season
2022/23
2023/24
Appearances
22
34
Goals
1
11
Assists
10
2
Goal Involvements per Match
0.5
0.38
In his first half-season in north London, the Waterschei-born wizard provided ten assists and scored one goal in just 22 appearances as the Gunners came agonizingly close to clinching their first league title since 2004.
While he hasn't been quite as prolific this season, the 29-year-old has still been fantastic when he's played. He currently has 11 goals and two assists to his name in 34 games, including the all-important goal that levelled the north Londoners' Champions League tie against Porto.
The 30-cap international might not be the first name on the teamsheet every week for Arsenal, but his importance to the squad cannot be understated.
However, with his 30th birthday coming up this year, and the fact that he's already earned the biggest move in his career, his transfer value has fallen in the year he's been at the Emirates, with Football Transfers' Expected Value model pricing him at around €21m, which is about £18m, or significantly less than a superstar the Gunners once sold on the cheap.
Serge Gnabry's valuation this season
Yes, the superstar in question is German international and terroriser of north London teams, Serge Gnabry.
The Bayern Munich star joined Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart in 2011 following a £100k deal. However, he would make a grand total of 18 competitive appearances for Arsene Wenger's side before being sold to German outfit Werder Bremen for just £4m in 2016.
It didn't take long for the Stuttgart-born dynamo to impress with Die Werderaner, with Bayern signing him for around €8m – £7m – just a year later, before sending the then-21-year-old out on loan to TSG Hoffenheim for the 2017/18 season, where he once again showed Arsenal what they were missing by scoring ten goals and providing eight assists in just 27 games.
The 5 foot 9 dynamo was finally given his chance to stake a claim for a place at the Allianz Arena in the following campaign, and with 13 goals and nine assists in 42 appearances, it would be fair to say he took it.
The subsequent four campaigns saw the "phenomenal" ace, as described by Rio Ferdinand, score 68 goals and provide 42 assists, as FC Hollywood won everything there was to win in the game, from league titles to the Champions League.
However, this year has been a tough one for the player Tony Pulis infamously described as being "not at the level to play for West Brom."
Four separate injuries have kept the 28-year-old sidelined for 111 days of the season, seeing him miss 20 games, so his lacklustre return of three goals in 14 appearances is easy to excuse.
Team
Arsenal
West Brom
Werder Bremen
TSG Hoffenheim
Bayern Munich
Appearances
18
3
27
26
232
Goals
1
0
11
10
84
Assists
2
0
2
7
51
Goal Involvements per Match
0.16
0.00
0.48
0.65
0.58
This poor run of luck has also affected his transfer value, with Football Transfers' Expected Value model pricing the German at around €37m, which is about £32m. While that's a harsh valuation, given his tremendously impressive body of work over the last few years, it's still more than Trossard's potential price tag.
Arsenal may rue selling £2m Hale End star who's now outscoring Jesus
The talented youngster just couldn’t make it work in North London.
ByJack Salveson HolmesMar 19, 2024
Ultimately, all clubs make transfer mistakes in football, especially when it comes to youngsters. Still, when it comes to Arsenal's transfer blunders, there aren't many worse in recent memory than selling Gnabry for just £4m.