3 Startling Transfers Arsene Wenger Has Made In His 20-year Stint With Arsenal

Arsene Wenger has been known for his methods for signing players for his team throughout his career with the Gunners, as he tends to buy really cheap players and sell them for a really larger price afterwards.

In fact, he has admitted he even thinks about the team’s money as it was his own, and he’s been very successful with that philosophy during all those 20 years he’s been in charge of Arsenal, being the most consistent boss of his generation.

However, he hasn’t hesitated to break the bank in order to catch a player that’s not happy with his current team or that just needs a new environment to shine, as he’s shown the past few seasons when he acquired some of the finest talents for his squad. This time, we’ll review some of the 3 most shocking transfers Arsene Wenger has made for Arsenal in the past few seasons.

Mesut Ozil

One of the most stunning signings of the Wenger era was definitely the world cup champion Mesut Ozil, who thrived alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema during his tenure with Real Madrid before suddenly deciding he didn’t want to compete for a starting spot for Mourinho and wanted to leave right before the transfer window closed.

There were some controversial declarations from Mesut’s father regarding his signing for the gunners, but that didn’t stop Wenger from writing a big cheque so he could bring the German midfielder to his team and even if it didn’t pay off right away, Ozil has been one of the key pieces for Arsenal so far this season, showing a superb level as he did with Los Blancos from 2010 to 2014.

Petr Cech

This was another shocking move the French boss did was the signing of former Chelsea legend Petr Cech, which was an instant heartbreak for the blue fans, who watched Cech defend his side for 10 years from 2004 to 2014.

The arrival of Thibaut Courtois to Stamford Bridge, along with several subpar performances from the Czech keeper, made everybody think that he’s career in U.K had come to an end, and that’s when Arsene made the most of the opportunity and convinced Petr to stay in London but with another team.

There were many reports which suggested that Manchester United were also in the race to sign the big Pete, as David De Gea’s negotiations with Real Madrid was on the verge, but Wenger spelled his magic and the former Chelsea man stayed at London and so did De Gea (at Manchester).

Francis Coquelin

When we first heard the name Francis Coquelin, most of us thought who the hell is this guy again, as the midfielder arrived at the Emirates Stadium after not being a regular starter for Freiburg and being a practically unknown player.

However, time showed Arsene was right once again, as the French midfielder became a key piece in his scheme and brought a lot of balance to an injury-plagued Arsenal midfield that constantly struggled to stop their rivals in the center of the pitch.

There’s no doubt Wenger will be remembered as one of the greatest soccer minds of all times and even if he has failed to get silverware for Arsenal the past few years, you cannot deny this guy’s eye for quality players.