ARSENAL made a profit on just EIGHT of the players who joined the club in the last ten years.
Since 2010, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been the biggest money spinner while Mesut Ozil represented the largest loss.
The Gunners’ transfer policy has been criticised in the past with players often leaving for less money than they were bought for – many after limited contributions to the first team.
And just a quick glance at the top ten losses in the last decade backs up that point. Alex Iwobi, Theo Walcott and Robin van Persie all made the club profit in that time but they arrived before 2010 so have not been included.
Arsenal have also let £163m worth of talent leave on free transfers in just three years.
Mesut Ozil left for Fenerbahce in January for nothing even though Arsenal paid £42.3m for him from Real Madrid.
And Shkodran Mustafi was a £36.9m buy from Valencia five years ago and the centre-back has also left on a free for Schalke.
But here SunSport details the eight rare examples of player who actually earned the North Londoners a few quid, according to Transfermarkt.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – £21.8m profit
The Ox was a solid performer for Arsenal having arrived from Southampton at the beginning of the 2011-12 season for £12.4million.
But the 27-year-old didn’t set the world on fire and the club did well to offload him to Liverpool in summer 2017 for £34.2m – a tidy profit indeed.
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Emi Martinez – £14.3m
The popular backup goalkeeper cost Arsenal just £1.4m from Argentine side Independiente in 2010.
But having found first team opportunities hard to come by – even after a run of games in place of injured Bernd Leno last season – Aston Villa swooped in the summer and shelled out £15.7m for him.
Krystian Bielik – £5.4m
Polish international Bielik, 23, showed plenty of promise before Arsenal paid Legia Warsaw £2m for him in 2014.
But having made just two senior appearances he was carted off to Derby County for £7.4m in August 2019 after loan spells at Birmingham, Walsall and Charlton.
Olivier Giroud – £4.5m
French goal machine Giroud arrived from Montpellier for £10.8m in 2012.
The 34-year-old went on to score 105 goals in 253 games for the Gunners before he tarnished his reputation with some fans by moving to Chelsea in a £15.3m transfer in January 2018.
Marouane Chamakh – £1.1m
Arsenal didn’t pay a penny for controversial striker Chamakh who arrived from Bordeaux on a free in 2010.
The Moroccan, 37, managed just 14 goals from 67 Gunners games before Palace paid a paltry £1.1m for him after a woeful loan spell at West Ham.
Carl Jenkinson – £1m
Another man who spent time at West Ham on loan before leaving permanently for Nottingham Forest in 2019 for £2m.
Shrewd-ish business considering the right-back and boyhood Arsenal fan was signed for just £1m from Charlton in 2011.
Thomas Eisfield – £700k
The German midfielder, 28, arrived from Borussia Dortmund for £700,000 in 2011.
He made just two senior appearances in the League Cup and even scored during the Gunners’ third round win over West Brom in September 2013.
Fulham eventually took him off their hands for £1.4m meaning the North Londoners doubled their money.
Joel Campbell – £500k
Arsenal thought they’d uncovered a diamond when they signed the striker from Costa Rican side Saprissa for £900k in 2011.
He managed 40 appearances with four goals and six assists before Italian side Frosinone bought him for £1.4m in August 2018 after several loan spells in Europe.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
