Iwobi makes history, grosses highest sales money for Arsenal in 133 years
Nigeria’s Alex Iwobi deadline day transfer to Everton has historically earned Arsenal the hefty sum of £40 million as Arsenal will receive £28 million upfront plus £12 million in add-on fee making it the highest ever transfer fee received by the club in its 133 years of existence.
Arsenal has paid out much higher sums to buy players but has never sold any player for £40 million. The winger has joined Everton on a five-year deal for £40 million.
A breakdown of the deal shows that £28 million will be paid upfront by Everton, with the remaining £12 million in various bonuses and add-ons.
Everton initially made a £30 million offer on Wednesday which was swiftly rejected by the Gunners. The Toffees originally wanted Palace’s Wilfried Zaha but were unable to complete a deal.
It’s a sad day for Iwobi who leaves the club where he grew up and calls ‘home’.
Moreover, this transfer will allow Reiss Nelson and Bukayo Saka to step up and push for a first-team spot.
Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s opening match against Newcastle, Unai Emery admitted that the club’s business in the market could still be not finished.
“Now we have the squad and we have finished the transfer market, but it’s still open in other countries.
“Unfortunately, we can achieve the last moment finishing yesterday with some players but now in the next 25 days we could lose some players.”
This summer Arsenal have signed 6 players for the first team, whilst losing Alex Iwobi to Everton and several youngsters.
At the moment, there are rumours regarding the sale of Shkodran Mustafi, Mesut Ozil and Mohamed Elneny.