While it might not feel like things are going all that well for Arsenal at the moment, the last five or six years have seen the club transformed.
Mikel Arteta took over a team in tenth place in the Premier League, and while there have certainly been some bumps in the road, he’s turned them into serious title challenges.
That said, while his predecessor, Unai Emery, got a lot wrong during his time in North London, he also got a few things right.
For example, he gave Bukayo Saka his debut and oversaw the signing of a player whose valuation has since exploded.
Emery’s worst Arsenal signings
So, before we get onto the player in question, it’s worth looking at some of the less impressive signings made under the Spaniard’s tenure, starting with the obvious: Nicolas Pepe.
In the summer of 2019, the board opted to spend a then-club-record fee of £72m on the LOSC Lille star, who had just scored 23 goals and provided 12 assists in 41 appearances for Les Dogues.
Unfortunately for all involved, that sensational form did not follow the Ivorian international to North London, and while he helped Arteta win the FA Cup in his first season, he eventually left the club for nothing with a total of 27 goals and 21 assists in 112 appearances.
On the extreme opposite side of the scale in terms of costs was Spanish midfielder Denis Suarez, who joined the team on a short-term loan in Emery’s only January transfer window in N5.
The former Barcelona ace was looked at as someone who could come in and help fill out the team’s midfield for six months, but he ended up making just six appearances in total, later revealing that he “wasn’t even at 50%” fitness for much of his time in the capital.
However, while Emery was in charge of several dud signings, he was also in the hot seat when the club bought an up-and-coming youngster whose valuation has since exploded.
The Emery signing who is worth millions more today
Unfortunately for Emery, fans do not remember his time at Arsenal particularly fondly.
Yet, he did bring them two of the team’s current stars, William Saliba and the player whose value has increased even more than the Frenchman, Gabriel Martinelli.
The dynamic winger joined the Gunners in the summer of 2019 from Brazilian outfit Ituano for just £6m and, according to the CIES Football Observatory, is now worth an astounding €101.2m, which converts to about £84m.
That means that the Brazilian star has seen his valuation soar an incredible 1300% in the last five and a half years.
In those five and a half years, the Guarulhos-born ace has made 209 appearances for the North Londoners, in which he’s scored 48 goals and provided 26 assists, which equates to an average of a goal involvement every 2.82 games, which isn’t too bad at all.
|
Martinelli’s Arsenal career |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Season |
Games |
Goals |
Assists |
Goal Involvements per Match |
|
19/20 |
26 |
10 |
4 |
0.53 |
|
20/21 |
22 |
2 |
2 |
0.18 |
|
21/22 |
36 |
6 |
7 |
0.36 |
|
22/23 |
46 |
15 |
6 |
0.45 |
|
23/24 |
44 |
8 |
5 |
0.29 |
|
24/25 |
35 |
7 |
4 |
0.31 |
Moreover, while he hasn’t been at his best in the last season and a half, you only need to go back to 22/23 to see how good his best can be.
For example, in just 46 games, the “unplayable” 23-year-old, as dubbed by pundit Owen Hargreaves, scored 15 goals and provided six assists, which comes out to an incredible average of a goal involvement every 2.19 games.
Ultimately, while his time at Arsenal wasn’t successful, Emery did at least make a couple of brilliant signings, and should Martinelli rediscover his form when he’s back from his injury, we wouldn’t be surprised to see his valuation grow further.
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