Arsenal's persistent interest in Brazilian winger Vinicius Junior has sparked discussions about the club's transfer history with Real Madrid. While the Gunners have not frequently conducted business directly with the Spanish giants, their past acquisitions have yielded varied results. Evaluating these signings provides context for the potential arrival of a star like Vinicius.
Davor Suker arrived at Highbury in 1999 for a £3.5million fee. In absolute terms, he should be ranked higher, but at Arsenal, he looked nothing like the player who hoovered up silverware at Real Madrid and dominated the 1998 World Cup. He wasn't an unmitigated disaster, returning eight goals in 22 Premier League appearances, but he was unable to fill the boots of Nicolas Anelka. Fortunately for Arsenal, Thierry Henry arrived the very next day to do so.
Ol’ Danny Onions was symptomatic of the early years of Mikel Arteta’s reign. He was good, with lots of promise, but ultimately not good enough. He was the footballing equivalent of an airport sandwich—entirely serviceable in the moment, yet instantly forgettable. He felt like a classic Spanish midfielder who was technically proficient at keeping possession ticking along, but he lacked the class of Premier League imports like Santi Cazorla, Thiago Alcantara, David Silva, or Juan Mata. It was only after moving on from relatively mediocre footballers like Ceballos that Arteta’s project really took flight.
‘La Bestia’ Julio Baptista was one of those wonderfully confounding footballers who could look like an elite-level world-beater one moment and your mate from five-a-side who can’t trap a ball to save his life the next, often within the same passage of play. It was lots of fun for disinterested neutrals, but enough to have Arsenal fans tearing their hair out. It feels like sacrilege to rank him above two quality Champions League winners, but football is about moments, and he scored four goals away at Anfield. Ultimately, it was a low-risk loan that came at little cost, avoiding the disaster of a wasted £20million fee.
Mesut Ozil was the man who made Arsenal fans dream and critics moan in equal measure. For a while, he looked like the transformational signing the club craved. The excitement surrounding his arrival was unlike anything the Emirates had experienced for years, and he repaid that faith with a bounty of assists, moments of brilliance, and two FA Cup winners’ medals. The relationship eventually broke down under Arteta as football left the classic No.10 behind, but for a while, there were few players more enjoyable to watch in the Premier League.
Finally, the most successful of the group is the player who captained Arsenal to their first league title in 22 years. We don’t need any more justification than that.
Predicting which clubs the summer's biggest free agents will sign for
Tottenham: Why James Maddison was not awarded a penalty against Leeds as Premier League issue statement
