Arsenal have broken their transfer record by spending what Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas says is close to €50 million euros (£44 million) on striker Alexandre Lacazette.
Here’s a look at how the Arsenal transfer record has evolved over the last century.
ARCHIE DEVINE – FEBRUARY 1913, £1,000
Signed from Bradford in a vain bid to avoid relegation in the 1912-13 season, Scotland midfielder Devine scored five goals in 24 games and worked as a miner and dockyard worker after his playing days were over.
DAVID JACK – OCTOBER 1928, £10,890
Figures vary over the exact amount that Arsenal paid for England striker Jack, who would prove a sensation with 124 goals in 208 games.
But it was the first five-digit signing in world football – almost double the previous record – and legend has it that Arsenal boss Herbert Chapman got the Bolton negotiators drunk to bring the fee down.
PETER MARINELLO – JANUARY 1970, £100,000
The Scottish winger was dubbed “the next George Best ” on joining from Hibernian and the 19-year-old scored on his debut at Manchester United.
But he rarely hit those heights again and left for Portsmouth in 1973 after only five goals and 51 games.
MALCOLM MACDONALD – JULY 1976, £333,333
Eclipsing the £220,000 spent on Alan Ball in 1971, Arsenal paid the unusual sum of £333,333.34 on Newcastle striker Macdonald five years later.
‘Supermac’ won the Golden Boot in 1977 and played 14 times for England before a knee injury cut his career short.
CLIVE ALLEN – JUNE 1980, £1.25M
The striker joined from QPR to become Arsenal’s first £1m player.
Featured in three matches during Arsenal’s 1980-81 pre-season, but he did not play a single competitive match for the Gunners before moving to Crystal Palace in a shock swap deal with full-back Kenny Sansom.
DAVID SEAMAN – MAY 1990, £1.3M
Arsenal took nearly a decade to raise the bar again, but when they did it was a world transfer record for a goalkeeper.
Seaman went on to make 325 Premier League appearances and play more in goal for the Gunners than anyone else.
IAN WRIGHT – SEPTEMBER 1991, £2.5M
Arsenal’s first £2m player was a larger than life character signed from Crystal Palace after coming out of non-league.
The England striker broke Cliff Bastin’s club scoring record with 185 goals in 286 appearances before joining West Ham in 1998.
DENNIS BERGKAMP – JUNE 1995, £7.5M
The last time Arsenal broke the British transfer record (it only stood for a few days as Liverpool paid £8.5m for Stan Collymore ), the Gunners got their money’s worth.
The Dutchman’s goals and assists played a central role in the club’s success under Arsene Wenger.
THIERRY HENRY – AUGUST 1999, £11M
Another outstanding piece of transfer business as Henry joined from Juventus.
Became the club’s all-time leading scorer with 228 goals in all competitions before moving on to Barcelona for 24m euros (at the time equivalent to £16m) in 2007.
MESUT OZIL – SEPTEMBER 2013, £38.2M
The signing of Ozil, which had the potential to rise by a further £4.3m in add-ons, from Real Madrid almost tripled the previous £15m record purchase of Andrei Arshavin in 2009.
But the Germany playmaker has divided opinion in his four seasons in north London.
Provided by Press Association