21m wasted: Arsenal were rinsed by Wenger flop who earned more than Timber & Raya - opinion

After a long campaign of ups and downs, we have made it to the business end of the season, and while Manchester City are in the driving seat, Arsenal are the closest they have been to lifting the Premier League title since their last triumph two decades ago.

Mikel Arteta's men have been seriously impressive this year and the additions he made in the summer have played their part, from Declan Rice and Kai Havertz to David Raya - even if he decided to make Sunday's win that little bit more exciting to the detriment of Arsenal fans everywhere.

david-raya-arsenal-porto-champions-league

The only summer signing not to make an impact has been Jurrien Timber, but that's down to the ACL injury he picked up in the opening game of the season, and based on his recent performance for the U21 side, he might well have an impact in the final few games.

The success of the summer arrivals is in stark contrast to a number of the numerous flops in the Gunners' past, especially one who was earning more than Raya and Timber are today.

Arsenal's current wage bill in 2024

Timber arrived from Dutch giants Ajax for around £38m in July of last year, and while he has yet to make his mark in North London, he has an impressive track record in the Netherlands to fall back on and justify his £90k-per-week wages.

Jurrien-Timber-Arsenal-Training

The "exceptional" defender, as described by talent scout Jacek Kulig, left Amsterdam with 121 senior appearances to his name in which he played across the backline, scored six goals and provided four assists, demonstrating the sort of versatile star Arsenal fans can expect to see next year.

Raya, on the other hand, has played plenty of football for the Gunners this term after signing on loan from Brentford last summer. The deal included an initial £3m fee and is set to total £30m when it's made permanent this summer.

Arsenal's highest earners

Player

Weekly Salary

Kai Havertz

£280k

Gabriel Jesus

£265k

Declan Rice

£240k

Martin Odegaard

£240k

Thomas Partey

£200k

Bukayo Saka

£195k

William Saliba

£190k

Gabriel Martinelli

£180k

Oleksandr Zinchenko

£150k

Data via Capology.

The Spaniard earns around £85k-per-week in north London, and while he has made the occasional mistake here and there, the fact that he is leading the race for the Golden Glove and likely to win it shows that he's certainly doing something right and earning his wages.

David-Raya-Arsenal

In all, the pair look to be quality acquisitions and, in the modern era, aren't earning astronomical wages, which can't be said for former Arsenal full-back Sead Kolašinac.

Sead Kolašinac's time at Arsenal

Arsène Wenger brought Kolašinac to the Emirates in the summer of 2017 for free after he seriously impressed for Bundesliga giants Schalke the year before, being described as the left-back of the year before his ill-fated move to London.

Sead Kolasinac

Due to there being no fee involved, the Bosnia and Herzegovina international was given a far more lucrative contract than most would have expected for a 23-year-old at the time, coming in at £100k-per-week, or £10k more than Timber and £15k more than Raya earn today.

Things started well for the Karlsruhe-born left-back, as he won the Gunners' Player of the Month award for August and October. However, even winning these awards, he faced criticism for his defensive displays, with Gary Neville claiming that he was "so irresponsible" in a game against Leicester City.

Sead-Kolašinac-arsenal

Unfortunately for the then-23-year-old and Wenger, his defensive displays didn't improve, and considering he managed to score just five goals and provide 13 assists in 113 appearances for the Gunners, his offensive qualities weren't good enough to justify keeping him at the club.

So, after a six-month loan back to Schalke in January 2021 and another six months at Arsenal after that, he was moved on to Marseille for free in January 2022.

The finances of Sead Kolašinac's Arsenal Deal

Wages (Total)

£100k (£21.1m)

Appearances

113

Cost per Appearance

£186k

Goals

5

Cost per Goal

£4.2m

Assists

13

Cost per Assist

£1.6m

Goal Involvements

18

Cost per Goal Involvements

£1.1m

All Stats via Transfermarkt & All Wages via Capology

Therefore, for the 211 weeks he was in the English capital, he cost the club a whopping £21.1m, which, when broken down, means he cost around £186k-per-appearance, £4.2m-per-goal and £1.6m-per-assist - talk about value for money.

Ultimately, while Kolašinac came in for free in July 2017, it would be hard to look at his time in red and white as anything other than a massive waste of money and a poor decision from Wenger.

Tomiyasu-Arsenal-Spurs