Top 7 incredible players sold by Arsenal: Know who

Sanchez and Giroud left Arsenal in January 2018

Arsenal were once one of the most feared teams in Europe but over the years, they’ve become a spent force. The Gunners went through a long trophy barren spell under Arsene Wenger and as a result, they lost several key players to rival clubs. For example, Kolo Toure, Samir Nasri, Emmanuel Adebayor, Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy joined rivals Manchester City in recent years.

Arsenal have not just sold their players to Manchester City. A player has left Arsenal to play for one of Liverpool, Chelsea or Manchester United in the last one year. The Gunners have sold a plethora of players in recent years and we can name a squad, let alone a starting XI. Some of the players were sold because they no longer wanted to be at Arsenal and others because Arsenal deemed them not good enough.

Goalkeeper – Wojciech Szczesny (Juventus)

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Wojciech Szczęsny is a product of the Arsenal academy and the Pole made his debut in September 2009. During his debut season, Wenger had big things to say about the player.

“We have identified Wojciech as a future great, great goalkeeper.”

“I really believe in him that he will one day be Arsenal’s number one. He has all the qualities you want from a goalkeeper.”

Szczesny became Arsenal’s first choice goalkeeper during the 2010/11 season and went on to play 181 games of the club. In 2013/14, he shared the Premier League Golden Glove with Petr Cech.

Centre-backs – Gabriel Paulista (Valencia)

Gabriel Paulista joined Arsenal in January 2015 from Villarreal and many hoped that the Brazilian would steady the Arsenal defence.

He got his Arsenal career off to a brilliant start but was never able to cement his place in the starting XI. His difficulty in following English was one major factor behind his rugged form.

In two and a half seasons with the club, he played 64 games and won the FA Cup twice before joining Valencia in August 2017. The 27-year-old is reunited with his former Villarreal manager Marcelino and is once again performing to the best of his abilities.

Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona)

Thomas Vermaelen’s career hasn’t gone exactly according to plan after leaving Arsenal to join Barcelona. The Belgian was the Arsenal captain when he departed ahead of the 2014/15 season but at Barcelona, he played just once in his debut season due to injury concerns.

Injuries have severely hampered Vermaelen’s post-Arsenal career and he even spent the 2016/17 season on loan at Roma but played just 12 games overall.

The 32-year-old is still contracted to Barcelona but he’s now their fourth choice centre-back behind Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti and Clement Lenglet.

Midfielders – Jack Wilshere (West Ham)

Jack Wilshere, a product of the Arsenal youth system, made his professional debut for the club in 2008 after joining the youth system in 2001. Wilshere showed a lot of promise during his initial days at Arsenal and became the club’s youngest debutant by breaking the record of Cesc Fabregas. However, Wilshere’s career was impeded by recurring injuries. The 2010/11 season was a breakout season for him as he played 49 games across all competitions while earning rave reviews. The following season, he failed to play a single game as he was on the treatment table. This was the theme of Wilshere’s career.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Liverpool) 

Very few departing players would have hurt Arsenal fans like Cesc Fabregas. The Spaniard joined Arsenal in 2003 as a 16-year-old and went on to play 303 games for the club scoring 57 times. During his stint with Arsenal, he was named club captain and became a fan favourite.

Ahead of the 2011/12 season, Fabregas pushed for a move back to Barcelona and damaged his relationship with Arsenal fans in the process.

Forwards – Olivier Giroud (Chelsea)

The three forwards in this XI left Arsenal for different reasons but they play for a top European club nevertheless.

Olivier Giroud joined Arsenal in 2012 as a replacement for Robin van Persie and throughout his Arsenal career, Giroud split opinion. Nevertheless, he still scored 105 goals in 253 games for the Gunners before joining Chelsea in January 2018.

The Frenchman left Arsenal in search of regular playing time as Arsenal had Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Danny Welbeck as striking options.

Alexis Sanchez (Manchester United)

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Alexis Sanchez also left Arsenal in January 2018 but he departed Arsenal because he wanted to join a club where he would be paid more and could also further his ambitions. However, that hasn’t worked out well for the Chilean.

Alexis played 166 games for Arsenal scoring 80 goals winning the FA Cup twice. He was in the final year of his contract last season and Arsenal opted to swap him for Henrikh Mkhitaryan in January rather than lose the player for free a few months later.

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