Arsenal aren't a club with the greatest track record when it comes to the transfer market.
Whether it's spending £72m on Nicolas Pepe or losing Aaron Ramsey for free, the Gunners used to have a tough time in the market.
However, as of late, Edu Gaspar and Mikel Arteta seem to have cracked it, and signings such as Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Magalhaes, and even Kai Havertz are evidence of that.
That said, the club got at least one sale spot on in the later years of Arsène Wenger's tenure, as the player in question is now worth just 5% of Havertz's current valuation.
Kai Havertz's transfer valuation in 2024
Havertz completed his surprise £65m transfer to Arsenal from cross-city rivals Chelsea last June to a wave of criticism and bemusement from fans and pundits alike. Former professional Gabriel Agbonlahor was particularly scathing, saying: "I don't understand that transfer, it's very strange. Arsenal haven't learned their lesson with transfers."
However, this criticism had little to no impact on Arteta or the player. Thus far, he has started in 71% of the Gunners' Premier League games and made 39 appearances across all competitions, in which he's scored nine goals and provided three assists.
Moreover, the Aachen-born ace has been in incredible form over the last month or so. In his last six games, he's found the back of the net four times in open play, buried his penalty against Porto, and provided two assists to boot.
In all, the 6 foot 4 titan has well and truly won over the Arsenal faithful, and his name has been sung around the Emirates far more than people were expecting it would be back in June.
This impressive run of form, combined with his natural ability and the fact that he's still just 24, has seen his valuation soar since putting pen to paper last summer, with the Football Transfers' Expected Value model pricing the German at €91m, which is about £78m, and significantly more than a player the Gunners sold in 2017; Alex-Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's career in England
Oxlade-Chamberlain spent six years at the Emirates, scoring 20 goals and providing 32 assists in 198 appearances before being sold to Liverpool for a whopping £40m on deadline day 2017.
Now, Liverpool didn't necessarily overpay for Chamberlain's signature at the time, as he was a very talented footballer, but it would be fair to describe his time on Merseyside as mixed.
Appearances
43
198
146
22
Goals
10
20
18
4
Assists
9
32
15
1
Goal Involvements per Match
0.44
0.26
0.22
0.22
Games Missed Via Injury
0
116
105
17 (ongoing)
Days on the Sidelines
0
510
586
158 (ongoing)
In his six years at Anfield, the former Southampton gem made just 146 appearances, or about 24 per season, which is far from ideal for a club that was regularly progressing deep into most competitions at the time.
The cause for this lack of game time is, of course, injury. During his stint with the Reds, the "bit-part player", as former professional Paul Robinson dubbed him, suffered from eight separate injuries, which saw him miss 105 games and spend an astounding 586 days on the sidelines.
What Oxlade-Chamberlain is doing in 2024
Upon the expiration of his final deal with the six-time European Champions, the 5 foot 11 Englishman opted to leave English football and signed a three-year deal with Turkish giants Besiktas.
It's been a reasonably successful season on the pitch for the 35-capped international, with four goals and one assist to his name in 22 appearances. However, his persistent injury problems have, well, persisted.
Despite only joining the club in the summer of 2023, the 30-year-old has missed 17 games and counting. He tore his thigh muscle in late December, which is expected to keep him out for a total of 158 days – talk about bad luck.
So, with his move to a substantially weaker league and never-ending injury woes, it's not all that surprising that his valuation has collapsed. According to Football Transfers' Expected Value model, he's now worth just €5m, which is £4m, or about 5% of Havertz's £78m valuation.
Arsenal hit jackpot selling academy gem who's now worth less than Nketiah
The talented youngster has seen his value fall in recent years.
ByJack Salveson HolmesMar 18, 2024
Ultimately, while Chamberlain enjoyed a somewhat successful career in England in terms of trophies, Arsenal hit the jackpot when they sold him for £40m six and a half years ago.
