Arsenal's 10 highest Premier League sales – and why it speaks volumes for Andrea Berta

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Arsenal's sporting director Andrea Berta has overseen some important signings since joining the club, with more expected to follow . But sales have been a challenge for the Gunners, with the problem persisting long before the Italian took up the role.

The north London side's record sale still sits at just £35million. To put that into context, only three of the other 19 Premier League sides - Sunderland , Hull and Coventry - have lower records. Arsenal simply aren't selling well.

A total of three sales this summer have raised less than £40m combined, with Karl Hein, Jakub Kiwior and Leandro Trossard completing permanent exits. Arsenal have already paid in the region of £34m for both Piero Hincapie and Christos Tzolis, whilst the anticipated move for Bruno Guimaraes will see them more than double their outlay .

When it comes to record sales, it's telling that the top four spots are occupied by transfers from the Arsene Wenger era, and the club simply aren't keeping up with the big-money exits that clubs like Chelsea and Manchester City sanction. Here are their 10 most lucrative offloadings, in reverse order, per Transfermarkt figures.

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Willock's move to Newcastle was a case of striking whilst the iron was hot. The midfielder scored eight goals during a loan spell at St James' Park, driving up his value and convincing Arsenal to cash in.

The England Under-21 international hasn't yet matched that goal tally across more than 100 games as a permanent Newcastle player, though his role became far less attacking under Eddie Howe. He was used sparingly last term, struggling to displace Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali.

Another recent sale, Nketiah demonstrated Premier League pedigree in an Arsenal shirt when he scored a hat-trick against Sheffield United in 2023. Months later, Crystal Palace took the plunge with a big-money bid and the striker - battling with the likes of Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus for opportunities - decided to try his luck elsewhere.

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The Eagles could end up paying even more for the England international if conditions for add-ons are met. However, his second season at Selhurst Park was cut short by injury and he will hope for a fresh start under new boss Pierre Sage.

Balogun, like Nketiah, moved in search of more regular first-team football. Again, Arsenal got good money for a fringe player when he followed up a 21-goal Ligue 1 season at Reims with a move to their rivals Monaco.

The United States international top-scored for his club last term and thrived for his country at the World Cup. There's no guarantee he would have developed at the same speed in North London, though.

Academy graduate Iwobi grew into his role at Arsenal, scoring in the 2019 Europa League final defeat to Chelsea and playing 100 league games for the Gunners. But the arrival of Nicolas Pepe meant he was considered disposable.

Marco Silva signed the Nigerian international for Everton but was gone within months in a tough first season. Things have gone better for Iwobi after a reunion with Silva at Fulham , where he has thrived in a deeper midfield role than the one he occupied at his boyhood club.

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The £26m paid by Manchester United for Van Persie in 2012 was worth a great deal more then than now. Still, it's telling that a deal from more than a decade ago is one of the top 10 on this list. And it's not the only one.

The Dutch striker's move was hugely dramatic at the time, with plenty of fans turning on a former favourite. United will have considered the move a success after his goals brought an immediate league title but the following two years were less fruitful for player and club and he left for Fenerbahce in 2015.

Academy graduate Smith Rowe made a fast start as a teenager but found himself overtaken in the pecking order during Mikel Arteta's tenure. He left for Fulham in 2024, with Mikel Merino brought in by Arteta just weeks later.

The three-cap England international has remained a solid presence in Fulham's midfield, featuring in 71 of 76 available league matches. However, he has not looked close to a Three Lions recall, nearly four years on from his most recent cap.

Your eyes don't deceive you. That's a 2011 sale in the top five - by way of comparison, Chelsea have sold 20 players for more money since then, give or take the margin of error for conversions between Euros and Pounds.

It was one of two big-money moves for Fabregas in his career, with the Spaniard also joining Chelsea in 2014 for a similar amount to the Barcelona deal after Arsenal opted against bringing him back. He won two Premier League titles with the Blues and has now made an impressive start to his managerial career with Como.

You might not even want to count this one, given the fact that it came as part of an effective swap deal. We're leaving it in just to emphasise the task facing Berta as he looks to succeed where his predecessors struggled.

Sanchez moved to United in 2018, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan joining Arsenal from the Red Devils. The Londoners came out of the deal a little better but neither club had huge success from the arrangement.

Those tricky conversion fees mean reports vary for how much Anelka went for in Pounds. Even so, it says a lot that a sale from 1999 features on this list.

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Anelka was an example of Arsenal turning a huge profit on a player they signed for less than £1m from Paris Saint-Germain. He would go on to make more than 500 career league appearances across several countries and also played for France at the World Cup and European Championships.

Arsenal's record sale remains the £35m they received when Oxlade-Chamberlain joined Liverpool in 2017. The England international became a Premier League and Champions League winner during his time at Anfield but was plagued by injury.

Despite spending six years as a Liverpool player, he made just 103 league appearances. He left for Besiktas on a free transfer in 2023 and is now at Celtic.