On Sunday, Arsenal travel north to Manchester to face title holders Manchester City. This match is important in the league title race and the quest for Champions League qualification. The match comes during the all important January transfer window, which could be vital for both clubs. Manchester City have already made one big acquisition this month, Wilfreid Bony from Swansea. Arsenal and Manchester City have had a rather notable transfer relationship in the not so recent past, with the majority of transfers going from the Emirates to the Etihad. Did Manchester City overpay for these players or did they get them at a low price?
Kolo Toure:
A member of Arsenal's Invincibles team and a defender who led the Gunners to their ill fated Champions League final in 2006, Kolo Toure made over 200 appearances for Arsenal. He spent six years at Arsenal and despite being seen as a utility player during the early part of his Arsenal career, he created a solid centre-back partnership with Sol Campbell as Arsenal went Invincible and won the 2003-04 Premier League title. He was never really out of the first team after that, but a bust up with fellow centre-back William Gallas ended his Arsenal career. He submitted a transfer request and moved to Manchester City for £14 million. He was appionted captain and didn't do badly during his first season at City. From then on though he was seen as a squad player and moved on Liverpool on a costless transfer in 2013.
Emmanuel Adebayor:
Adebayor scored 64 goals during his time at Arsenal. He was a prolific striker and was voted African Player of the Year and in PFA team of the Year during his time at Arsenal. He flirted with moves to Barcelona and AC Milan in 2008 but signed a new contract with Arsenal. A year later he moved to Manchester City for £25 million. In his first season at City he was rarely out of the team, scoring 14 goals in 31 appearances. In his second season, he struggled for game time playing only 14 times before going out on loan to Real Madrid and Spurs. He then moved permanently to Spurs. £25 million for 45 games isn't an amazing return - it was a definite overpayment.
Gael Clichy:
Clichy was another member of Arsenal's Invincibles team in 2004, he became the youngest player to win a Premier League medal that year, he then went on to make over 200 appearances for Arsenal before his £7 million move to the Citizens in 2011. He still plays for City today and is frequently in the first team. He battles Kolarov for that first choice left-back place, but he had played over 100 times for City so £7 million doesn't look like a bad deal. Wenger probably could got more for him but it was probably quite a fair price.
Samir Nasri:
Nasri moved to Arsenal from Marseille in 2008 and went on to make over 100 appearances for the club. He was thrown into the first team from his first season and had three good years at Arsenal. He was a versatile attacking midfielder and he was even compared to Zidane. He moved to Manchester in 2011 for £25 million and won the title in his first year with them. He is rarely out of the first team and makes a mixture of starts and substitute appearances. He's played nearly 150 times for City, scoring 23 times. He's been in two League title winning sides with City, but £25 million is a lot of money to pay for him. Wenger got a lot of money for him and in the end it was a good deal for everyone.
Bacary Sagna:
Sagna is Manchester City's most recent acquisition from Arsenal and also the cheapest. Sagna played over 280 times for Arsenal and was hailed as one of the best right-backs in the Premier League. He played in last year's FA Cup final and was a respected player at the club. He moved to City on a costless transfer in the summer when his contract expired. He hasn't really replaced Zabeleta at right-back but he had made 11 appearances this season. On a costless transfer, City's deal for Sagna was a bargain but there was nothing that Arsenal could really do about that.
Overall, Arsenal have driven a hard bargain when selling players to City and many of those players have failed to recapture their good Arsenal form after the move.
