Five most expensive Arsenal transfers

With Mesut Ozil’s club record transfer just completed hours ago, we look at the five most expensive signings Arsenal have made.

5. Jose Antonio Reyes (£10.5M)

The Spanish winger joined Arsenal in the middle of their unbeaten season in 2003-04. His first real impact came when he scored a brace to knock Chelsea out of the FA Cup that season. In the summer of 2005, Reyes signed a 6-year contract with the Gunners, but left on a loan to Real Madrid just a year later. He would eventually move to Real’s cross-city rivals Atletico Madrid in July 2007.

4. Sylvain Wiltord (£13 M)

Sylvain Wiltord

The Frenchman was snapped up by Arsene Wenger, just a couple of months after he scored the winning goal in the final of Euro 2000. Wiltord’s spell at Arsenal was a successful one, which saw him win two Premier League and two FA Cup medals. He left for Lyon after the famous Invincibles season, in which he was a bit-part player at the club.

3. Santi Cazorla (£14.5 M)

Santi Cazorla

Santi Cazorla was one of the big name signings that Wenger made in the summer of 2012, a summer in which he lost his talisman Robin van Persie to Manchester United. Cazorla didn’t take much time to adapt to life in England, scoring 12 goals and providing 14 assists in his first season at the North London club.

2. Andrey Arshavin (£15 M)

Andrey Arshavin joined Arsenal in January 2009, just seven months after an impressive showing at Euro ’08. Just three months into his Arsenal career, he produced a stunning display at Anfield, scoring four goals in an enthralling game. However, Arshavin’s performances deteriorated badly in the latter part of his Arsenal career, and he re-joined Zenit Saint Petersburg in July 2013 after his contract at the Emirates expired.

1. Mesut Ozil (£42.5M)

Mesut Ozil

And finally, the man of the moment – Mesut Ozil. The German international moved to the Emirates for a club record fee of £42.5 million. This transfer shattered the previous transfer record at Arsenal by nearly £25 million. Ozil has been in fine form over the past three years since his move to Real Madrid. During his time at the Bernabeu, he provided 47 assists in La Liga, the joint-most by any player across Europe’s top four leagues (Lionel Messi being the other player with 47 assists to his name during the same period).