Arsenal are a club that have been utterly transformed over the last five years or so.
Mikel Arteta has taken a side that were spiralling down into mid-table mediocrity and has helped craft one of the best teams in Europe, let alone the Premier League.
While his philosophy and tactics have played a significant role in the North Londoners’ rejuvenation, so have the signings they’ve made.
Under previous Sporting Director Edu Gaspar and Andrea Berta today, the Gunners have become far more effective at identifying and signing brilliant players in the transfer market.
However, Arsenal still have a problem selling stars, and have seen more than their fair share leave for nothing, including an international who could be described as being Arteta’s own Alexander Isak.
Arsenals players who left for nothing
There were signs of improvement with the likes of Eddie Nketiah, Emile Smith Rowe and Aaron Ramsdale all leaving for decent money last summer, but in the previous four or five years, Arsenal have had too many players leave for nothing.
Where Are They Now
Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast’s Where Are They Now series.
For example, perhaps the most exciting signing the club have ever made, the player whose arrival promised the ushering in of a triumphant period for the club that never arrived, Mesut Özil, ended up leaving for nothing.
The German superstar famously agreed to a bumper £350k-per-week contract renewal in January 2018, and it was pretty much downhill from that moment until he left for Fenerbahçe three years later.
Another big-money signing who left for free was Nicolas Pepe.
The Ivorian was a better player for the Gunners than people gave him credit for, racking up 48 goal involvements in 112 games, but he could never live up to his £75m price tag and, after several middling loans, had his contract terminated by mutual consent.
Going further back, to Unai Emery’s time at the club, and Aaron Ramsey’s exit was another disaster from a financial perspective.
After 369 games for the club, in which he scored 64 goals, provided 60 assists and played a significant role in several FA Cup triumphs, the Welsh legend left the Gunners to join Italian giants Juventus.
With all that said, none of these stars could realistically be compared to Liverpool’s new superstar Isak, which isn’t the case for another ace who left for nothing under Arteta’s watch.
The Arsenal star who was Arteta's Isak
Since taking the job at Arsenal, Arteta has overseen the exits of some notable players, including the aforementioned Ozil, but perhaps the most controversial one was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The Gabonese international was the club captain for part of the Spaniard’s tenure, but following a drop in form and his late arrival for a North London derby in March 2021, the writing was on the wall for his Gunners career.
The former Borussia Dortmund star was eventually let go for nothing in January 2022, and while he endured a lacklustre year and a half with Barcelona and Chelsea, he quickly found his form in the south of France.
In one season with Marseille, the Laval-born monster scored 30 goals and provided 11 assists in 51 appearances, which was enough to earn him a big-money move to the Saudi Pro League.
The 36-year-old was able to amass an impressive tally of 24 goal involvements in 36 games for Al-Qadsiah last season, but has now returned to Marseille, where he is already outperforming Viktor Gyokeres, producing three goal involvements in three games.
Appearances
51
36
3
Minutes
4005′
3196′
186′
Goals
30
21
2
Assists
11
3
1
Goal Involvements per Match
0.80
0.66
1.00
Minutes per Goal Involvement
97.68′
133.16”
62′
With all of that said, then, what was it about Auba that meant we could describe him as being like Arteta’s Isak in the past?
Well, the first reason is that, prior to going off the boil somewhat, the “world-class” striker, as dubbed by Behdad Eghbali, was a lean, mean goalscoring machine for the manager.
For example, in the 19/20 season, he racked up a sensational haul of 29 goals and three assists in 44 appearances, totalling 3725 minutes.
That comes out to an outrageous average of a goal involvement every 1.37 games, or every 116.40 minutes.
Moreover, like the former Newcastle United star, he’s a lanky striker but undeniably elegant centre-forward, who was capable of a plethora of finishes, but was particularly adept at coming in from out wide and slotting home.
In fact, like the Swede, he may be a striker first, but he has spent a considerable amount of time in his career playing out wide on the wings.
Finally, just as the Reds’ new star helped his former side with the League cup, the former Gunners star played a crucial role in Arteta lifting the FA Cup in his first season as manager.
Ultimately, while there were valid reasons for getting rid of Aubameyang, we can’t help but wonder how useful he’d be in this Arsenal squad, as he clearly still has an excellent ability to put the ball in the back of the net.
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