Alongside their progression from midtable mediocrity to title challengers in the Premier League, Arsenal have also become far smarter in the transfer market.
Gone are the days when the club would smash its transfer record on a player like Nicolas Pepe, only to see him leave for free a few years later.
The club is still happy to splash cash, but in recent seasons, they have done so far more effectively, with Declan Rice, Ben White, and Lenadro Trossard just a few examples.
However, they have also become far shrewder in terms of outgoings, and while the likes of Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe are great examples of that from this summer, there was a midfilder sold four years ago who brought in a sizeable fee and has since been outscored by Gabriel Magalhaes.
Gabriel's Arsenal career
Arsenal completed the £27m signing of Gabriel from French giants LOSC Lille in the summer of 2020, and while it hasn't been smooth sailing the entire time, it would be fair to describe the transfer as a roaring success.
In all, the São Paulo-born monster has made 171 appearances for the North Londoners, and while it's primarily his defensive abilities, partnership with William Saliba and ability to bully opponents off the ball that keeps him in the team, he's also become a somewhat reliably source of goals over the years – for a centre-back, anyway.
For example, in his 135 Premier League games for the Gunners, the "unstoppable" colossus, as talent scout Jacek Kulig described him, has scored 14 goals, and as of January this year, that made him the highest-scoring defender in the league since he joined four years ago.
Now, the 6 foot 3 titan is undoubtedly helped by his teammate's incredible ability to exploit set pieces, but he is just as much a part of that 'cheat code' as the rest.
Moreover, his impressive ability to put the ball in the back of the net means that he has scored more goals than a midfielder Arsenal sold three years ago.
Joe Willock's goal tally
The former Arsenal player in question is Hale End graduate Joe Willock, who made 78 appearances for the club during his time in North London.
An exciting box-to-box midfielder, Unai Emery brought him into the team and once hailed him for filling the void left behind by fan favourites Aaron Ramsey & Jack Wilshere. Sadly, things didn't quite work out, though.
However, he was deemed surplus to requirements in January 2021, so he was sent on a six-month loan to Newcastle United, where he set the world alight and ended his stint with a seriously impressive tally of eight goals in 14 matches.
Such an impressive level of output understandably forced the Toon into action, and in that summer they paid around £25m to make his move permanent.
Now, the 5 foot 10 central midfielder has since made another 90 appearances for the Magpies and has been a useful player when fit, but his goalscoring touch has all but disappeared.
In those 90 games, he's scored just eight times, and while that isn't dreadful for a player in his position, it is less than Gabriel has in the same period.
Appearances
90
112
Goals
8
12
Goals per Match
0.08
0.10
The Brazilian brick wall has found the back of the net on 12 occasions on 112 occasions, equating to a goal on average every 9.33 games, while the Englishman has averaged one every 11.25 games.
Ultimately, Willock is still a talented midfielder, but Arsenal made the right call in selling him for £25m, and while it isn't all that meaningful, it's certainly a fun statistic that Gabriel has since been the more significant goal threat of the two.
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