Wide Forward: Alexis Sanchez – £35m
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A season after signing Ozil from Real Madrid, Wenger turned his attention to Barcelona to pick up another player who was seemingly ‘discarded’. Gareth Bale’s transfer had seen Ozil move while the signing of Luis Suarez spelt the end of Alexis’ career at the Camp Nou.
And Wenger was only too happy to shell out £35m on the Chilean international. 25 goals in his debut season with the Gunners only goes to show what an impact he had in his first season at the club.
It was his ability to play across the front three that made Alexis thrive. An injury-hit season followed but 2016/17 has seen Wenger deploy him as a striker and he has already grabbed 5 goals and 4 assists in 10 matches.
Wide Forward: Jose Antonio Reyes – £17.5m
Signed as a 20-year-old winger from Sevilla, Wenger had brought to north London a player who could play across midfield or play as a supporting striker. At the time, the Gunners were leading the 2003/04 title race and he settled in to help them finish the season unbeaten.
He would help the club extend that run to 49 games and started the 2004/05 season well before reports of his ‘homesickness’ started to surface. It was at the time when real Madrid were also circling, ready to snap him up.
In the end, Reyes moved back to Spain on loan with the capital club after Wenger had had enough of the club’s underhanded tactics in luring the unhappy player away from Highbury. He famously said: “There is no way to have an unhappy player. Despite the global warming, England is still not warm enough for him.”
Striker: Lucas Perez – £17.1m
Before Lucas Perez, Andrei Arshavin was the club’s most expensive striker at £15m. It shows how frugal Wenger has been in the transfer market, refusing to spend big on strikers when they are usually the most expensive players on the market.
In truth, Wenger had tried to sign Jamie Vardy from Leicester City and also bid for Alexandre Lacazette from Lyon, both of whom had scored at will in the 2015/16 season. But he ultimately settled for Perez from Deportivo La Coruna.
He has played a bit-part role so far but had an impressive game against Nottingham Forest where he scored twice, displaying his strength to hold off defenders, skills on the dribble and finishing. But again, like Mustafi, it is too early to judge the Spaniard.
Also read: Arsene Wenger's Best XI in 20 years at Arsenal
