It's a great time to be an Arsenal fan at the moment.
After a weekend of thrilling Premier League action, Mikel Arteta's side find themselves atop the table once more, and to make things even better, they're just a game away from the Champions League quarter finals.
The north Londoners are a world away from the team that used to struggle to finish in the top four, thanks to some brilliant transfer business and the promotion of talented youth stars like Bukayo Saka.
For example, it wasn't long ago that one of the biggest flops in the club's recent history earned a higher base salary than the Hale End gem and provided very little in return.
Bukayo Saka's salary at Arsenal
The talismanic youngster made his full debut for Arsenal on December 13th, 2018, at just 17 years old, in a Europa League clash against Qarabag FK.
In the five and a half years since, the Ealing-born gem has made 215 appearances for the Gunners, scoring 54 goals, providing 55 assists, and playing everywhere from left-back to right-wing.
Right-Wing
85
30
24
0.63
Right-Midfield
55
18
16
0.61
Left-Midfield
35
4
8
0.34
Left-Back
21
1
5
0.28
Left-Wing
8
0
1
0.12
Central-Midfield
7
1
1
0.28
While the "incredible" youngster, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has been wowing fans since he first pulled on that red and white shirt, his performances over the last two campaigns have been truly exceptional – some might even say world-class.
Last year, the 5 foot 10 wizard scored 15 goals and provided 11 assists in 48 appearances, whereas this season, he has already scored 16 goals and registered 15 assists in just 36 games, making his recent £195k-per-week contract incredibly easy to justify for the club.
That said, it's still a serious investment from the Gunners and means the 22-year-old has the fifth-highest base salary at the club, although just a few years ago, there was someone on even more who made little to no impact on the team.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan's salary at Arsenal
Yes, the player in question is none other than Armenian superstar Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who, along with Alexis Sanchez, was a part of arguably the worst swap deal in Premier League history in January 2018.
The Yerevan-born midfielder was a talented player at Manchester United, but he could never replicate the immense output the Chilean managed in London.
That said, in his first six months in red and white, the then-29-year-old managed a respectable return of three goals and six assists in just 17 games, although that was as good as it got for the former Borussia Dortmund star.
The following year saw his output take a hit as he scored six goals and provided seven assists in 39 games, meaning he averaged 0.33 goal involvements per match, which would be fine for a youngster or squad player, but not someone on £200k-per-week – which made him the second-highest earner at Arsenal.
Total Wages
£16.6m
Appearances
59
Cost per Appearance
£281k
Goals
9
Cost per Goal
£1.8m
Assists
13
Cost per Assist
£1.2m
Goal Involvements
22
Cost per Goal Involvement
£754k
With the move not working out, the club sent the 5 foot 10 midfielder on loan to AS Roma for the 2019/20 season before letting him leave for free the following year.
In all, the 35-year-old spent 83 weeks earning £200k as an Arsenal player, meaning that his total cost to the club was around £16.6m, or £1.8m-per-goal, or £754k-per-goal-involvement, making it hard to describe the transfer as anything other than a failure.