Arsenal's top 11 most expensive transfer sales – ranked

Arsenal have seen many of their stars sold to European powerhouses and domestic rivals over the last couple of decades, but the Gunners haven’t always been able to receive big bucks for outgoing players.

In fact, only 11 players in Arsenal’s history have departed for a fee of £25m or more – pretty low given the calibre of players at the club and the amount of money being floated around in the modern era.

So who are the Gunners’ most expensive sales? We have compiled a list of their priciest departures here.

All information is correct as of 3rd October 2025. Transfer fees have been obtained from news reports, with add-ons included where applicable.

A number of Arsenal players have reportedly been sold for £25m, including former No 1 goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.

Ramsdale signed in 2021 before being replaced by David Raya during the 2023/24 season.

Ramsdale’s fee comes with a little scepticism, hence his place at the bottom of this list. Southampton paid Arsenal an initial £18m for his services in 2024, with £7m in add-ons.

While he was a regular at St Mary’s during their dismal Premier League campaign in 2024/25, it’s unclear (and perhaps unlikely) that conditions were met to activate the add-on clauses.

Marc Overmars was one of Arsenal’s double-winning heroes in 1998, but was off to Spain after three seasons in north London after Barcelona came calling.

He departed alongside Emmanuel Petit, with the La Liga giants spending a reported combined fee of £32m for the pair.

£25m of that is thought to have been for the Dutchman alone, with Arsenal reinvesting in the likes of Sylvain Wiltord and Robert Pires.

One of Arsenal’s more acrimonious departures in recent memory was that of Emmanuel Adebayor in 2009.

The Togolese striker signed for league rivals Manchester City in the same summer that the Citizens had poached Kolo Toure from the Emirates Stadium.

Adebayor’s beef with the Arsenal faithful famously came to a head during the clubs’ first meeting since his switch, with the striker celebrating a goal in front of those who used to adore him.

Manchester City had an appetite for picking up Arsenal players at this point – they had even recruited Sylvinho and one-time Gunners triallist Yaya Toure before returning to the current squad for Frenchman Samir Nasri.

Nasri had enjoyed a stellar personal campaign in 2010/11, and was a key part of Arsenal’s failed title challenge that year, scoring 10 times in the league (albeit only once after New Year’s Day).

It was another destructive summer for the Gunners as they continued to sell players to pay off their stadium debts, with Nasri’s mid-August departure arguably marking the peak of the annual exoduses.

Times had changed by the time Joe Willock left Arsenal. The world transfer record had almost tripled, £100m players were becoming more common, and youngsters were being sold for big bucks.

Arsenal tried to get in on this as Newcastle negotiated a deal to turn Willock’s loan move permanent, with the midfielder shining for the Magpies under Steve Bruce.

The Gunners could only grab £25m in exchange for his services, but for an academy product, it was not a bad sum in terms of profit.

With Eddie Nketiah failing to assert himself as the Gunners’ main striker, the forward finally left the club in the summer of 2024, with Crystal Palace his destination.

Some may say it was commendable for Arsenal to receive a £30m fee despite letting Nketiah go at the age of 25.

In truth, Nketiah only occasionally lit up the Emirates and could not find the consistency required to spearhead a title-chasing side.

One of Unai Emery’s final acts in the transfer market as Arsenal manager was to sanction the sale of Alex Iwobi to Everton.

Given that Iwobi went on to star for the Toffees, Fulham and Nigeria since his departure from north London, it could be argued Arsenal got fair value, though at the time, his unrealised potential could have made it seem that Everton had somewhat overpaid.

Having made his debut under Arsene Wenger as an academy product, Iwobi again showcased the youth setup’s ability to produce superstars.

One of Arsenal’s more bittersweet departures in recent times was Emile Smith Rowe’s exit to fellow Londoners Fulham.

Smith Rowe’s first-team opportunities had dwindled at Arsenal despite his obvious talent, with injury problems hampering his progress at the Emirates.

Mikel Arteta decided to take the opportunity to sell the academy star, with Smith Rowe linking up with ex-Gunners Alex Iwobi and Bernd Leno.

Arguably the Gunners’ most high-profile sale, Cesc Fabregas finally joined Barcelona in summer 2011 after years of speculation surrounding his future.