This article forms part of our Profit Players feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how well a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how good of a deal the club managed to achieve.
It could be fair to say that Arsenal are not the greatest when it comes to selling their players. Last summer, Aaron Ramsey left for nothing, while there was no financial gain from Alexis Sanchez’s departure to Manchester United a year-and-a-half earlier.
Meanwhile, they may be ruing letting Serge Gnabry go for just £4.5m (Transfermarkt), with the German showcasing his talents on the continental stage.
But in 2017, Arsenal arguably bucked the trend when they sold Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool for £35m.
While the England man is in good form, scoring for both club and country in recent weeks, at the time of his departure, it could be said that such a fee overvalued Oxlade-Chamberlain’s abilities, and potentially helped Arsenal to secure the services of goal machine Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
So while Liverpool got their man, it seemed as though Arsenal could justify their decision to let their player go to a direct rival.
Oxlade-Chamberlain may have had good reason to want to leave Arsenal. The club had not long failed to qualify for the Champions League as their domestic form dipped horrendously – with their late-season revival and FA Cup triumph over champions Chelsea not enough to keep the midfielder at the Emirates Stadium.
Though while Liverpool may have bought ‘The Ox’ after one of his better seasons in a Gunners shirt, the stats may suggest that’s not saying much at all.
The 2016/17 season saw Oxlade-Chamberlain net six times – the most he had managed since moving from Southampton in 2011 for a reported £15m.
A glut of injuries had halted his progress in North London and his status in the Gunners squad was by no means consistent – owing much to his lengthy periods on the sidelines.
Those troubles had seemed to have followed him to Anfield, as he was ruled out of the World Cup having only recently returned at the back-end of last season after recovering from a serious knee problem to lift the Champions League with Liverpool.
So in accruing £35m – more than the Reds paid for Mohamed Salah – for a player with a modest yet unremarkable goalscoring record, and following it with the subsequent sales of Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud by funding a second club-record move in six months, although Liverpool’s investment may be showing signs of paying off, it seems Arsenal are still continuing to reap the rewards of his sale.
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Arsenal fans, did Liverpool over-pay for Oxlade-Chamberlain? Let us know in the comments below!
