How Arsenal’s Last Four Highest-Paid Players Ended Up Amid New Contract for Saka

How Arsenal’s Last Four Highest-Paid Players Ended Up Amid New Contract for Saka

Elijah Odetokun
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:29 PM
In this article:
Bukayo Saka logo
B.Saka
Arsenal logoFEngland logo
Mesut Özil logo
M. Özil
Başakşehir Futbol Kulübü logoMGermany logo
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang logo
P. Aubameyang
Marseille logoFGabon logo
  • Bukayo Saka is reportedly set to sign a new bumper contract at Arsenal
  • The new contract will run until 2028 and will make him the highest-paid player at the club
  • He has been in scintillating form this season scoring 12 goals and assisting another 10

Bukayo Saka is one of Arsenal's core new look and young squad chasing Premier League glory against current champions Manchester City.

The Arsenal academy graduate has scored 12 goals and provided 10 assists for his teammates as the Gunners sit eight points clear of second-placed City in the race for the league title.

He has been in negotiations with the club over a new contract since last year before the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, with his current contract set to expire in 2024.

Bukayo Saka, Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Arsenal.
Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were the last top earners at Arsenal with Bukayo Saka set to sign new contract. Photos by Simon Stacpoole/Sebastian Frej/Roland Krivec.
Source: Getty Images

According to Sun UK, he is set to sign a new bumper contract till the summer of 2028, which would see his current £70,000 wage quadrupled to £300,000, making him the highest-paid player.

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Sports Brief examines the previous four highest-paid players at the club and how they fared after receiving huge contracts.

4. Lukas Podolski

The German striker joined Arsenal in 2012 for £10.9m from Cologne and signed a four-year contract worth £157,000, making him the highest-paid player at the club at that time, according to Mirror UK.

He scored just 19 league goals for the club before he was loaned out to Inter Milan in January 2015 due to a lack of playing time. He was eventually sold to Galatasaray and has played for five clubs since leaving Emirates.

3. Alexis Sanchez

The Chilean forward joined Arsenal from Barcelona in 2014 and was Arsenal's highest-paid player at £140,000 per week salary following the departure of Podolski. His demands of a new £350,000 a week salary were not met, and he left for Manchester United.

He earned a salary of £450,000 a week at Manchester United, according to Times UK. A season and a half later, he left for Inter Milan and currently plays for Olympique Marseille.

2. Mesut Ozil

Another German star who had the luxury of being Arsenal's highest-paid player was Mesut Ozil. As reported by Guardian UK, he signed a new contract worth £350,000 per week in 2018.

He clashed with head coaches Unai Emery and Mikel Arteta during his tumultuous final years and left the club on acrimonious terms. He played for Fenerbahce and Istanbul Basaksehir before retiring last week.

1. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

The departure of Ozil and a new contract made the Gabonese striker the highest-paid player at the Emirates. Things soon went downhill for him due to disciplinary issues, which led to him being stripped of the captaincy.

He joined Barcelona in January 2022 but returned to England with Chelsea in September. He is currently trying to return to Spain in the summer after falling out with head coach Graham Potter.

Inter Milan wants Auba

After his recent visit to Camp Nou to watch his former teammates play in El Clasico, the Chelsea hierarchy is reportedly willing to terminate Aubameyang's contract at the end of the season.

He is interested in returning to Barcelona but has emerged as a shock target for Italian giants Inter Milan, as earlier reported by Sports Brief. Nerazzurri wants him to replace another Chelsea striker, Romelu Lukaku

Authors
Elijah Odetokun photo
Elijah Odetokun
Elijah Odetokun is Reuters-trained journalist with three years of experience having previously worked at Daily Times Nigeria, OmaSports and El Futbolero.