Why Arsenal should become a selling club once again – for their own good

Unai Emery Arsenal selling club

Before Borussia Dortmund were every hipster's favourite European underdog; before Southampton had packaged and shipped their finest talents to Anfield, Arsenal perfected the selling model. “We don't buy stars,” Arsene Wenger insisted. “We make them.”

Arsenal went unbeaten in 2003/04, but Wenger himself found invincibility in the years that followed. He won nothing, yet his reputation grew: a man who could lose the titanic Patrick Vieira, replace him with a lightweight La Masia playmaker and then progress further in Europe. Thierry Henry, Ashley Cole and Robert Pires all left, and were replaced by Emmanuel Adebayor, Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri. When the second wave left too, Arsenal simply reinvested and maintained their top-four status. 

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.