Arsenal’s resurgence in recent seasons is built upon solid acquisitions in the transfer market. The club has certainly got more right than wrong under Mikel Arteta. Not every transfer has been a hit, but few have been outright duds. The signings of Declan Rice, Martin Ødegaard, Gabriel Magalhães, and Eberechi Eze stand out as helping elevate Arsenal to the cusp of Europe’s elite.
As with all teams, Arsenal’s transfer history isn’t all highs – there have been several spectacular failures too. Whether through failing to live up to the price tag, barely playing a game, or a series of inept performances, the following deals are among those best consigned to the transfer history dustbin.
Nicolas Pépé – £72m from Lille (2019)
Given their rich experience with sublime wingers, much fanfare greeted the arrival of Pépé from Lille in August 2019. At £72m, the pacey, productive wide man became Arsenal’s record signing – a benchmark which stood until the acquisition of Declan Rice in 2023. Fresh from tearing up Ligue 1 with 23 goals and 12 assists in 2018/19, the Ivory Coast international was touted as the missing piece in Arsenal’s attack.
Unfortunately for Arsenal, Pépé quickly found that Premier League defences were harder to crack than those in Ligue 1. The fact that 10 of his 2018/19 goals had come from the spot soon became a big talking point, as Pépé never came close to matching the hype. Joining Trabzonspor on a free transfer in 2023, Pépé left Arsenal with a record of 27 goals in 122 appearances – not terrible, but not the record of a £72m man either.
Shkodran Mustafi – £35m from Valencia (2016)
Capped 20 times by the German national side, Shkodran Mustafi clearly has many appealing attributes for a central defender. However, he had displayed regular lapses in concentration and a penchant for calamitous errors during spells with Everton, Sampdoria, and Valencia.
In need of defensive reinforcements, it perhaps wasn’t the biggest surprise that Arsenal turned to Mustafi in 2016. However, the huge fee of £35m appeared extortionate at the time and looked even worse at the end of Mustafi’s spell in North London.
🔙🔛🔝 Extremely happy with our last-minute win and my debut! 💪🏽🔴 Feels great to play in front of all you Gooners! ⚽👌🏽 pic.twitter.com/hWzNzi9Cgh
— Shkodran Mustafi (@MustafiOfficial) September 10, 2016
Things began well for Mustafi, who set a club record by going unbeaten in his first 22 games. However, his form soon collapsed. An inability to time a challenge or sense danger saw him out of the team by 2019. Despite all that, the error-prone defender managed to rack up 151 appearances for Arsenal before terminating his contract by mutual consent in 2021. Joining Schalke for his next assignment, Mustafi played his part in the club’s first relegation in 33 years.
Sebastien Squillaci – £4m from Sevilla (2010)
Arriving for £4m from Sevilla in 2010, Squillaci appeared to be a relatively low-risk emergency replacement for the injured Thomas Vermaelen. However, it soon became clear that the Frenchman came with plenty of risks of his own. Out of his depth throughout 2010/11, he made a series of costly errors. One particularly memorable moment saw Squillaci headbutt Laurent Koscielny, dazing his centre-back partner and allowing Diomansy Kamara to stroll through and score for Fulham.
Squillaci’s ineptitude forced Arsenal back into the transfer market for another centre-back. Following the arrival of Per Mertesacker in the summer of 2011, Squillaci made only one more Premier League appearance for the Gunners before departing in 2013.
Igor Stepanovs – £1.3m from Skonto Riga (2000)
Initially brought in on trial, Stepanovs’ every touch in training was met with rapturous praise from Ray Parlour and Dennis Bergkamp – but only in an effort to wind up Martin Keown. Whether Arsene Wenger paid any attention to this praise or otherwise, Stepanovs was snapped up permanently to step in for the injured Tony Adams.
Starting with a bang, the 6ft 4in defender powered in a header on his debut against Ipswich Town. However, his efforts in his own half left a lot to be desired. Following a series of shaky displays, the wheels came off at Old Trafford. Faced with a rampant Red Devils outfit, Stepanovs simply couldn’t cope. Dwight Yorke scored a first-half hat-trick as United netted five before the break. Stepanovs produced a spectacularly bad 45 minutes, helping all five of United’s first-half goals with his borderline comical defensive efforts.
That outing in Manchester seemed to shatter Stepanovs’ confidence, who left the club in 2004. To his credit, big Igor departed with a Premier League title and two FA Cup Winners’ medals, despite appearing only 17 times in four years.
Francis Jeffers – £8m from Everton (2001)
Touted as the next big thing at Everton, “fox in the box” Jeffers was snapped up to add a poacher’s instinct to Arsenal’s attack. In hindsight, breaking into a side containing Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp was never likely to be easy, and Jeffers wasn’t helped by injury problems. Nevertheless, he failed to hit the hoped-for heights when called upon. An overall record of eight goals from 39 appearances represents a disappointing return in a side as attack-minded as the early-2000s Gunners.
Jeffers left for Charlton in 2004, with Arsenal recouping only £2.6m of their initial outlay. When reflecting on the deal, Wenger is alleged to have stated, “We were considering Ruud van Nistelrooy and Francis Jeffers and, in the end, we went for Jeffers.”
André Santos – £6.2m from Fenerbahce (2011)
Signed to fix a problem position at left back, Brazilian international Santos did a passable job in supporting the attacks. However, a staggering lack of pace or positional awareness saw the defensive side of his game ruthlessly exposed.
Already struggling to win the fans over thanks to his poor form, Santos soured the relationship entirely in a clash with Manchester United. Opting to swap shirts at half time with public enemy number one, Robin van Persie, didn’t go down well with the Gunners faithful – particularly as another subpar Santos performance contributed to Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat.
Willian – Free from Chelsea in 2020
Willian cost nothing in terms of a transfer fee when moving across London in 2020. However, the Brazilian was far from “free”; weekly wages of £200,000 suggested that big things were expected. Vastly experienced in the English game and a dual Premier League winner with Chelsea, Willian surely represented a safe investment.
Instead, Willian treated Gunners fans to a single season he called “the worst time that I think I lived as a professional.” Scoring just once in 37 appearances, he left for Corinthians in 2021. Gallingly for Arsenal fans, Willian showed that his 2020/21 flop was an aberration when producing two excellent seasons at Fulham between 2022 and 2024.
Wellington Silva – £3.4m from Fluminense in 2011
We conclude with one of the most bizarre transfers in Arsenal’s history. A fee of £3.4m may pale in comparison to the eye-watering figures of the mid-2020s, but it was a significant outlay for an unproven 17-year-old from Brazil.
A strike for the reserves against Manchester United and a brace in a behind-closed-doors friendly suggested Wellington was ready to make a splash in the Premier League. Unfortunately for the youngster, the FA then announced that they had changed their mind about awarding Silva a “Special Talent Visa”, making the youngster ineligible to play for the Gunners.
Following a series of loans to Spanish sides, Silva eventually received his work permit in 2014 – only to be sent out on loan again, this time to Bolton. Moving back to Fluminense permanently in 2016, Wellington’s European adventure saw him make a total of zero appearances for the Arsenal first team.