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Signings of Arsenal Past, Present, & Future

Hello there everyone, I write this for you on a fine Sunday in which I'm still basking in the glow of one of the most exciting signings this club has ever seen, I'm wearing the new home shirt, and my damn "h" key is broken, so I essentially have to smash the keyboard with my face everytime I have to use it.

On Thursday, Arsenal made official something that had been highly speculated for a long time prior, and that was our kits. They look really quite lovely in my opinion, and I especially like the third kit. The away kit doesn't look nearly as nice as last season's, which I think will go down in the all-time greats. The home kit is a solid start to the Puma era.

There was also the small news that we'd signed some bloke called Alexis Sanchez. I've already said why he's an absolutely brilliant signing, and so have millions of other people, so I don't feel the need to beat a dead goat. I'm excited, you're excited, I just wet my pants thinking about the prospect of him linking up with Mesut, and that's about that.

However, after that £42.5 million move last year, we seem to have already taken for granted the signing of world-class players. At this point, £30 million (or whatever it was) for Alexis Sanchez just seems obvious, but a few years ago we would've looked at that fee and laughed, knowing we would be safe to assume we'll just get a French kid who's been dubbed the next *insert Arsenal legend here* on a free.

So, once again, I'm going to try and be our community's hero and put this transfer into perspective by listing the most expensive purchases of each season since the 2005 FA Cup win and a breakdown of their Arsenal careers. Hopefully this will help you see just how far we've come, and that we should never take this newfound economic freedom for granted.

2005-06 Season - A.K.A. The Year We Said Goodbye To Highbury

Alexander Hleb - £13.2 million
Apps - 130
Goals - 10
Assists - 16

In his three years at the club, Alexander Hleb fared reasonably well. While he was an exciting dribbler and had an eye for a good pass, he really lacked end product. This was frustrating at times, but his work ethic made it difficult not to love him. Sold to Barcelona in 2008.

Other notable signings - Theo Walcott, Abou Diaby, Nicklas Bendtner, Alex Song (loan)

2006-07 Season - A.K.A. The Year We Got A New Home

rosicky

Tomáš Rosický - £6.8 million
Apps - 221
Goals - 25
Assists - 20

Largely hampered by injuries for many seasons, but has showed his quality whenever he's played. Has become more influential as he's aged, and is also one of my favourite players at the club. This deal was a success in my eyes, even if his stats don't reflect that. For his price, he was certainly worth it.

Other notable signings - William Gallas, Denílson, Alex Song

2007-08 Season - A.K.A. The Year We Should've Won The League

Eduardo - £7.5 million
Apps - 67
Goals - 20
Assists - 18

Showed promise, but that leg break against Birmingham destroyed his career. Never looked the same after that, played with hesitance and less mobility. However, still showed he had the ability, scoring a goal against Burnley that was later voted the club's seventh best goal of all time on the official website. Sold to Shakhtar Donetsk for approximately £6 million in 2010.

Other notable signings - Bacary Sagna, Łukasz Fabiański, Lassana Diarra

Tags: Arsenal, Arsenal FC, Cazorla, Rosicky, Vermaelen, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Goonersphere, Özil, Arshavin, Arsenal Football Club, Sanchez, Hleb, Eduardo, Laia Grassi

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