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#18 Rob Holding - £65,000 per week
Signed from Bolton Wanderers back in 2016, Rob Holding hasn’t always found life at Arsenal easy. The central defender was just beginning to establish himself as part of the Gunners’ starting XI when he tore his ACL, and since then, he’s only made a handful of appearances.
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However, with a calm nature and a strong range of passing from the back, Holding has begun to break back into Mikel Arteta’s plans. He’s clearly a talented player, and Arsenal fans will hope that he continues to improve for the remainder of his current deal, which expires in 2023.
#17 Cedric Soares - £75,000 per week
A curious signing if there ever was one, defender Cedric Soares joined Arsenal on loan from fellow Premier League side Southampton in January 2020 and then made his move permanent in July. However, he made just five appearances in 2019-20 and has not played a single Premier League game in 2020-21.
Whether Arsenal will keep him for much longer is a question mark – he’s already 29 years old and is on a hefty wage of £75k per week. If they do want him to leave, they’ll probably have to sell him, as his deal doesn’t expire until 2024.
#16 Kieran Tierney – £80,769 per week
Arguably one of Arsenal’s best signings in recent years, Kieran Tierney joined the Gunners from Celtic in the summer of 2019. One of the Premier League’s best attacking full-backs, the Scotland international is now beginning to make an impact after an injury-hit 2019-20 campaign.
The current season has seen the 23-year-old appear in eight of Arsenal’s nine Premier League matches, and while he hasn’t scored or assisted yet, thanks to his crossing ability, it seems like just a matter of time until he does. With a contract until 2024, he should be a key player at Arsenal for some time yet.
#15 Pablo Mari - £85,000 per week
Signed in January 2020 from Flamengo, Arsenal fans have not yet seen the best from defender Pablo Mari. In fact, they’ve barely seen the Spaniard at all. He’s only played three games since joining the Gunners and is still on the shelf with a significant ankle injury.
How much longer Mari will be out for remains a question mark right now. But he’s likely sitting pretty given that by all reports, he’s making around £85k per week on his deal that takes him to the summer of 2024.
#14 Shkodran Mustafi - £90,000 per week
Usually classed as a highly expensive mistake, defender Shkodran Mustafi has been with Arsenal since his move there for around £35m in the summer of 2016. His strong performances at Euro 2016 for Germany convinced the club to sign him on a £90k per week deal. But he’s largely struggled since then.
Mustafi came under serious criticism for some major errors in the 2018-19 season and made just 15 Premier League appearances in 2019-20. While he’s appeared four times in all competitions during the current campaign, his deal expires at the end of the season – and it’s unlikely Arsenal will be willing to renew it.
#13 Gabriel Martinelli - £90,000 per week
One of the most highly-rated prospects in the Premier League, Brazil’s Gabriel Martinelli joined Arsenal in the summer of 2019. And during his first season at the club, he made quite the impact. Martinelli was arguably the Gunners’ best player in their Europa League campaign, scoring three goals, and he ended the season with 10 goals in 26 appearances across all competitions.
The Brazilian signed a new deal with the Gunners in the summer, upgrading his wage to a reported £90k per week, but injuries have curtailed his burgeoning career since. He’s expected to make his return in 2021, and Arsenal fans will be hoping he continues on his impressive trajectory.
#12 Sokratis - £92,000 per week
Another player who seems potentially surplus to requirements at Arsenal, Greek defender Sokratis was signed in the summer of 2018 for around £17m and currently earns a hefty £92k per week. However, there’s little chance of him breaking back into the starting XI any time soon.
Sokratis made just 19 Premier League appearances in 2019-20 and has now been left out of Arsenal’s Premier League squad by Mikel Arteta. With his contract due to expire in the summer of 2021, the likelihood is that he’ll be walking away from the Emirates on a free transfer when the time comes.
#11 Granit Xhaka - £100,000 per week
Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka has made an impressive turnaround at Arsenal, considering that he was stripped of the club’s captaincy only a year ago after abusing Gunners fans. He was expected to leave the club in January 2020 but was instead kept by Mikel Arteta and is now a key member of Arsenal’s starting XI again.
With a contract that will keep him at the club until 2023, Xhaka is now expected to remain as part of the Gunners’ midfield for the foreseeable future. If he’s genuinely committed, he should stand as one of the club’s better players.
#10 Nicolas Pepe - £100,000 per week
Arsenal’s record signing, Nicolas Pepe, was bought to the Emirates from Lille for a massive fee of £72m. His contract is almost as big as that transfer fee, as he currently earns a reported £100k per week in a deal that runs until the summer of 2024.
However, the jury is still largely out on the Ivorian when it comes to his performances on the pitch. Pepe did show flashes of brilliance in his debut season and scored eight goals in his 42 appearances. But he’s flattered to deceive on occasion, too, and was recently sent off in Arsenal’s 0-0 draw with Leeds.
Essentially, there’s a long way for him to go before he justifies his transfer fee.
