In recent years, Arsenal has developed into a far more astute club when it comes to transfers. 

With players like Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, and Folarin Balogun departing for large fees in the previous year and a half, Mikel Arteta and Edu Gaspar have helped the team become far better sellers and more astute purchases. 

But all you have to do is travel a little further back in time to witness some of the Gunners’ less than stellar sales, as players like Nicolas Pepe, Mesut Özil, and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang all left for nothing.

That said, while two of those three didn’t exactly kick on after leaving, a former Hale End graduate who was sold for a pittance has, and he’s outscored Gabriel Jesus for two seasons now.

Jesus’ Arsenal form

Arsenal completed the £45m signing of Jesus from Manchester City in the summer of 2022, and it would be fair to say that in the two years since, the Gunners faithful have seen the best of the Brazilian and the worst.

For instance, the 27-year-old is among the league’s, if not the team’s, most technically impressive players to watch when healthy and on the ball. His ability to manoeuvre around opponents, hold the ball, and frustrate the opposition may be quite useful. 

Before the 2022 World Cup, in just 14 games, he scored five goals and supplied five assists, putting his ability on full display and catapulting the club into an unexpected title battle with his previous team.

But he sustained a serious knee injury in Qatar that kept him out of action until the middle of March. 

Although he was still a goal threat when he returned, his fitness is now a serious worry. 

For instance, he missed 16 more games due to injury last season, and he has already missed two games this year due to a groin problem. When you combine these issues with the reality that Kai Havertz is now Arteta’s de facto starting number nine, things aren’t looking too good for the former City star.

Sadly, it appears that he will only be able to play a supporting role this season. It also doesn’t help that a former Hale Ender who was traded for peanuts is outscoring him.

The recent record of Chuba Akpom

Yes, the individual in issue is Chuba Akpom, a former youth product of Arsenal who was transferred to Greek team PAOK in 2018 for a sum later disclosed to be around £2 million after failing to make an impact on the Gunners’ first squad.

The poacher from Canning Town made the switch to Championship side Middlesbrough after making an impression in Greece. However, following a disappointing 2020–21 season, he returned to Greece on loan before stunning everyone once again in the 22–23 campaign.

He only had 42 appearances, but in those 42 games, he scored 29 goals and supplied two assists, or one goal every 1.35 games on average. Not unexpectedly, he finished the season as the Championship’s leading goalscorer.

The former Gunners prospect’s impressive performance won him a £12 million summer transfer to Ajax, a Dutch powerhouse.

Despite his early struggles, he finished his first season in Amsterdam with an outstanding rate of one goal every other game—15 goals and three assists in 36 appearances.

Now, while Boro manager Michael Carrick referred to him as a “terrific” striker, he has outscored Jesus over the past two seasons, but it’s crucial to remember that he has done it in lower levels. That does not alter the truth, though, that Arsenal would undoubtedly become slightly stronger at this point if they had a forward like Akpom in the lineup.
Having said that, his departure might have been in everyone’s best interests considering how brilliantly he has performed over the past few years and how much the Gunners have grown.