Top 10 Trending Arsenal's Highest Earners at Emirates Stadium

Under Arsene Wenger Arsenal have become generally famed for relatively shrewd spending (with a few exceptions of course) and the same goes for the wage structure. The Gunners are no Manchester United when it comes to how much they pay their players but a recently revealed wage breakdown still has a few surprises lurking in it. Find out who earns the most money at the Emirates Stadium ...

10. LUKAS PODOLSKI - £75,000
When you look at where Lukas Podolski stands in the Arsenal wage bill you start to understand a little more of why he was loaned out to Inter Milan. Of course the biggest question was actually why he wasn’t getting any game time in the first place but I suppose if you’re not going to ever get any use out of such an expensive investment it does make sense to try and sell it on. Podolski’s loan contract at Inter Milan does have the option to purchase at the end of the deal and should that happen it would free up a lot of space on the Arsenal wage roster.


9. MIKEL ARTETA - £80,000
When you’re the official club captain you can expect to be hailed as one of the higher earners at your club. Arriving in 2011 the Spaniard has now made exactly 100 Premier League appearances but has been sidelined for long periods recently. It would have cost the Gunners quite a bit in wages to convince the former Everton man to join a divisional rival of the Toffees and these recently revealed figures confirm that!


8. AARON RAMSEY - £80,000
Aaron Ramsey’s impressive form last season earned him a contract extension in March 2014 tying him to the club until 2018. And given just how well he was performing for the Gunners that probably would have involved something of a pay-rise. His current wages of £80,000-a-week put him level with club captain Mikel Arteta, but like his Spanish midfield counterpart he has struggled with fitness again this season.


7. TOMÁS ROSICKY - £85,000
Tomas Rosicky is one of Arsenal longest standing current players having joined the club in 2006 after an impressive display for his country at the World Cup in Germany. The Czech midfielder often goes under the radar at Arsenal considering his age and state of fitness in recent years but he has demonstrated this season just how valuable he is to the Gunners. Still the seventh highest earner at the club despite big marquee signings of late he has more than earned his £85,000-a-week contract after nine years of commitment to Arsenal.


6. JACK WILSHERE - £90,000
Despite being photographed in a West Ham during his younger years, Jack Wilshere continues to maintain that he is Mr. Arsenal. And his wages are testament to what he means to the club with his brilliant passing skills earning him transfer links with Barcelona in recent years. His £90,000-a-week contract just goes to show what the Gunners were prepared to offer him to keep him on the books as he continues in his attempts to become the next big thing in English football.


5. SANTI CAZORLA - £90,000
Level with Wilshere is midfield maestro Santi Cazorla. The diminutive Spaniard joined the club from Malaga in 2012 and was an instant hit. Only on his second deal since his arrival Cazorla will earn £90,000-a-week from the Gunners until 2016 but given his impressive displays of late may find himself signing another extension before the end of the season.


4. THEO WALCOTT - £100,000
Injuries to Theo Walcott were clearly frustrating for Arsenal in two ways. Firstly, not being able to deploy one of the fastest players in Europe down the flanks is always going to be an annoying dilemma. But when you’re paying that player £100,000-a-week all of that money becomes a rather large wasted investment. Arsenal chiefs will be happy that Walcott is back on the pitch again as they may finally start getting a direct return on the big bucks they’re paying him.


3. OLIVIER GIROUD - £100,000
We knew Olivier Giroud would be in the top ten but we didn’t think that he’d be in the top three. The 28-year-old signed from Ligue 1 side Montpelier in 2012 and they’re not exactly renowned for huge wage bills. But it was Giroud’s most recent contract extension signed in September 2014 that saw his wages soar. An impressive campaign last year earned the Frenchman a big pay rise amongst some interest (but not much) from bigger European clubs.


2. MESUT OZIL - £140,000
And now we reach the big guns – and I’m sure nobody is surprised here. Mesut Ozil’s signing in August 2013 seemed too good to be true for Arsenal fans at the time and his arrival was the first time the Gunners had really splashed the cash breaking their transfer record. The £40 million signing from Real Madrid would have enjoyed a lucrative deal at the Bernabeu before arriving in London so it should be no surprise that he’s on £140,000 at the Emirates.


1. ALEXIS SANCHEZ - £140,000
And level with the former Real Madrid midfielder is, not surprisingly, former Barcelona man Alexis Sanchez. Not only is he the joint highest earner at the Emirates he is by far the most effective contributor so far this season. Nobody would disagree with the statement that every penny spent on keeping Sanchez at the club (which is officially until 2018 on his current deal) is 100% worth it as he has 18 goals in 32 appearances in all competitions for the Gunners so far and has created many more. And even if you think £140,000 is a lot of money to pay a player – do bear in mind that Radamel Falcao is on double that at Manchester United!