A player Unai Emery signed for Arsenal back in 2019 is now actually thought to be worth more than Declan Rice in today’s market.

Under Mikel Arteta, Arsenal are finally starting to get a better grasp of the transfer market, at least when it comes to players arriving.

During Emery’s time in charge, it’s fair to say that there were a couple of high-profile flops.

Nicolas Pepe is the first player to spring to mind, who wasn’t actually said to be a signing inspired by Emery in his defence.

But signing the likes of David Luiz, Sokratis Papastathopoulous and Matteo Guendouzi – just to name a few, didn’t seem to present one clear vision.

But having recruited the likes of Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and David Raya last summer, it was clear what Arteta was trying to achieve, and they all improved Arsenal’s starting XI.

That being said, you would hope so given the fee Arsenal paid to bring those players in, particularly the £105m paid for Rice. 

No one is debating the worth of that deal now, one of the best signings in the club’s recent history.

William Saliba now worth triple what Arsenal paid for him, more than Declan Rice

That being said, one of Emery’s signings who is still around today, William Saliba, who cost £27m at the time, is now said to be worth more than Rice by one calculation.

Football Observatory have just shared their latest list of world football’s 100 most valuable players, containing a number of Arsenal names.

And perhaps the most surprising observation of the list is the amount of Arsenal players thought to be worth more than Rice.

According to this calculation, Rice is thought to be worth €103.3, or roughly £88m – a number a fair few fans and pundits would think is too modest.

And judged by the same standards, five Arsenal players are thought to be worth more.

In ascending order, William Saliba (£90m), Kai Havertz (£99m), Gabriel Martinelli (£108m), Martin Odegaard (£135m) and Bukayo Saka, at a whopping £166m, are all thought to be worth more.

Of course, these sorts of lists are incredibly subjective, but perhaps these values do prove how healthy this Arsenal squad is right now.

And when looking to players who could one day be worth a similar sum at the Emirates, Arteta has an opportunity to sign an extraordinary English youngster this summer.