How the 19 Arsenal players sold by Unai Emery this summer are getting on

It was a busy summer at Arsenal, but how are the players sold or released getting on?


Aaron Ramsey celebrates his first Juventus goal (Photo by Daniele Badolato - Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images)


The summer of 2019 was a period of remarkable activity for Arsenal.


Though the Gunners went into the summer with budgets limited there was no shortage of ambition in north London, typified by a £72million, club record swoop for Nicolas Pepe from Lille.

Meanwhile William Saliba was signed from Saint-Etienne for £25million even though Arsenal opted to loan him back to the Ligue 1 club. Dani Ceballos, Kieran Tierney, Gabriel Martinelli and David Luiz also joined.


Whilst that covers incomings, it's easy to forget there was a number of high-profile exits at the Emirates Stadium this summer, some of which upset fans and some of which were just neccessary.







But how have the players either sold by Unai Emery or released on a free transfer fared since leaving north London?

Football.london takes a look...

Alex Iwobi (Everton, £40m)

A deadline day departure. A move which split the Arsenal fanbase and left some of his teammates sad as the Nigeria international was a popular member of the squad.

Iwobi has enjoyed a start to life at Goodison Park that will be familiar to many in north London. In flashes he has appeared to be a player worthy of Everton's final investment but the end product has left much to be desired.

In 22 appearances this season Iwobi has just two goals and an assist, all of which came in August and September. Under Carlo Ancelotti he has found himself drifting to the peripheries of the squad and was on the bench for Everton's two games prior to the league's postponement.

Krystian Bielik (Derby County, £10m)

The Pole left Arsenal in the search of first-team football.

It appeared to have been a success for most of the season as Bielik made 21 appearances, predominantly as a starter in defensive midfield for Philip Cocu's side.


Krystian Bielik (L) fouls Famara Diedhiou of Bristol City (Image: James Wilson/MB Media/Getty Images)



However the Pole suffered a season-ending knee injury playing for Derby's Under-23 side in January.

Laurent Koscielny (Bordeaux, £4.6m)

This transfer left a sour taste in the mouths of many Arsenal supporters.

From the moment the former captain refused to go on the club's pre-season tour to the United States the writing was on the wall in regards to his future.

He returned to France, establishing himself as a regular in a Bordeaux side firmly ensconced in midfield.

David Ospina (Napoli, £3m)

After a season on loan at Napoli, Ospina sealed a permanent move to the Serie A outfit at the beginning of July.

The Colombian spent the 2018/19 season vying with Alex Meret for the starting spot and that remains the case now. After spending the early months warming the bench Ospina came back into the picture before Serie A was postponed due to coronavirus, starting six of eight including a run of three wins in February that brought Napoli within nine points of Champions League qualification.

Carl Jenkinson (Nottingham Forest, £2m)

Briefly during the summer Jenkinson was the sole survivor of Arsenal's 'British core' that had included Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. He bid an emotional farewell to the Gunners when he joined Nottingham Forest and swiftly established himself as a starter.

However as has often been the case in Jenkinson's career injury hit at the worst possible moment, as trouble with his ankle sidelined him for three months, denying him the chance to make his return to the Emirates Stadium in the EFL Cup. Since his return he has largely been confined to the bench with Matty Cash established as Sabri Lamouchi's first-choice right-back.

Takuma Asano (Partizan Belgrade, £900k)

Following a string of loan spells, the Japan forward joined Partizan permanently and made a swift adaptation to life in Serbia. Largely playing as a left winger he has scored six goals and provided four assists in 31 appearances.

Cohen Bramall (Colchester United, free transfer)

The left-back had plenty to say about Emery following his release, but has found a new home at Colchester United. Bramall appears to have settled in Essex, starting 24 games as The Us battle for a playoff berth in League Two.

Stephan Lichtsteiner (FC Augsburg, free transfer)

Lichtsteiner was a free agent up until joining Bundesliga side FC Augsburg.

Though his second appearance was a disaster - sent off after two bookable offences inside the opening 35 minutes - he has proven to be more successful at Augsburg than he was at Arsenal, making 15 starts in the Bundesliga with the Bavarians.

Danny Welbeck (Watford, free transfer)

Welbeck took his time before joining a new club, signing for Watford on August 7.

He made his debut as a second half substitute in the 1-0 loss away at Everton where he was reunited with ex-teammates Iwobi and Theo Walcott.

Unfortunately injury struck Welbeck again early in his career at Vicarage Road and he missed three months with a hamstring injury, slipping behind the likes of Ismaila Sarr in Nigel Pearson's pecking order.

Aaron Ramsey (Juventus, free transfer)

Ramsey has found himself at the heart of a string of stylistic and tactical debates over Juventus under Maurizio Sarri since his free transfer to Turin. With injuries also niggling him he has made 24 appearances across all competitions, scoring four goals.




Aaron Ramsey playing for Juventus in Serie A



As Arsenal fans will doubtless remember Ramsey found himself making a late-season surge in performances and saved his best performance for when Juventus needed it most, scoring one and providing the other in a 2-0 win over Inter Milan that saw Sarri's side firmly establish themselves as the Scudetto front-runners before COVID-19 forced the suspension of Serie A.

Petr Cech (retired)

It was known ahead of last season's Europa League final against Chelsea that Cech was going to hang up his gloves.

He has since returned to Chelsea in a Technical and Performance Advisor role and started a new life as an ice hockey goalkeeper with Guildford Pheonix.

Vontae Daley-Campbell (Leicester City, free transfer)

The 18-year-old left Arsenal on a free transfer, joining Leicester City. Daley-Cahmpbell has made 12 Premier League 2 appearances thus far.









Charlie Gilmour (Norwich City, free transfer)

The 20-year-old joined Norwich but is spending the season on Holland with Telstar in the second tier of Dutch football. starting 24 of 29 games.

Julio Pleguezuelo (FC Twente, free transfer)

The defender was quickly snapped up by Twente and they will feel they made a shrewd addition in Pleguezuelo, who has featured in 19 of their 26 Eredivisie games this season. Since the Spaniard moved to centre-back in the new year there has been a slight upswing in form as The Tukkers battle to avoid the drop.

Bayli Spencer-Adams (Watford, free transfer)

Another ex-Arsenal player at Vicarage Road, the 18-year-old impressed in the Under-18 Premier League and earned starts for the senior side in the two FA Cup ties against Tranmere. He would ultimately end up on the losing side but he is held in high regard by the Watford hierarchy.

Yunus Musah (Valencia, free transfer)

The midfielder turned down an offer of a scholarship at Arsenal in order to make the move to Spain. At 17 he is already a regular in the Valencia Mestalla B team with a goal to his name.

He also played in every one of Valencia's six UEFA Youth League games.

Xavier Amaechi (HSV, £2.25m)

A sale many Arsenal fans hope doesn't come back to haunt them.

Hamburg had always intended to ease Amaechi into life in Germany so he began his time with the club's B team, further struggling with a hamstring injury and abdominal influenza after making his senior debut in September.

Dominic Thompson (Brentford, £3m)

Thompson was part of the Arsenal pre-season tour squad in the United States, but was allowed to join Brentford permanently on deadline day.

For the most part this season the 19-year-old has been confined to the fringes of Thomas Frank's promotion chasers, playing for just five minutes in the Championship and featuring in the Bees' three domestic cup games.




Dominic Thompson in action for Brentford (Image: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)



Nacho Monreal (Real Sociedad, £250,000)

After several years of solid service, the Spaniard left Arsenal on the eve of the north London derby to join Real Sociedad for a nominal fee.

He made his bow following the international break and in some style too, scoring against La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid at home. He has continued on a similar vein in 24 appearances for Sociedad this season, proving to be a solid addition as the Basque side battle with the likes of Sevilla, Getafe and Atletico Madrid to qualify for the Champions League.

Arsenal fan Q&A survey


Ask us anything during the current break in fixtures. We will answer your questions live on the site every day.

Kelechi Nwakali (Huesca, free transfer)

Having not made a single first-team appearance for Arsenal, the Nigerian moved to Spain on a free.

A debut for Huesca still awaits.