Lately, there have been reports that Arsenal are considering luring Super Eagles and Galatasaray forward Victor Osimhen to London, according to multiple reports, including Sky Sports.
Around last week, Galatasaray showed interest in Arsenal duo Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri. During discussions between both clubs, Osimhen’s name came up, with Arsenal showing interest in Victor Osimhen in what could be considered a player swap plus cash arrangement.
Arsenal are now reluctant and want the Nigerian to reduce his wages, as the club feels they won’t be able to match his current salary package.
The 27-year-old striker currently earns around £15.995 million gross annually, approximately £307,600 per week, which would put him among Arsenal’s highest earners. Bukayo Saka, who is reportedly one of the club’s highest earners, is close to £15.6 million annually, approximately £300,000 per week. Kai Havertz, William Saliba and Gabriel Jesus are some of the other players on high wages at the London club.
It sounds disrespectful and unfair for Arsenal to ask the Nigerian to reduce his pay just to stand a chance of representing them.
This was a similar situation the 2023 African Player of the Year faced in 2024 when he almost switched clubs from Napoli to Chelsea. Chelsea offered less than 50% of his Napoli wages, and the Nigerian wanted the Blues to match his Napoli salary if they could not pay more. Chelsea declined, and the deal collapsed.
Chelsea offered €4 million in fixed salary per year, plus up to €4 million in bonuses, while his salary at Napoli at the time was around €11 million per year.
In 2024, Chelsea had players who were not performing at Osimhen’s level while earning high wages. Although it’s understanding that the club was trying to restructure its wage bill, Raheem Sterling was earning around £16.9 million annually, equivalent to approximately £325,000 per week. Going by this, Osimhen deserved better than what Chelsea had offered.
Over the past four seasons, Victor Osimhen has maintained his consistency, writing his name among the best strikers in the world.
In the 2022/23 season, Victor Osimhen played a crucial role in helping Napoli win their first Scudetto in 33 years, scoring 26 goals in Serie A and finishing as the league’s top scorer. He also netted 31 goals across all competitions, underlining his importance to Napoli’s historic title-winning campaign.
His 31-goal tally was significantly higher than the leading scorers at Chelsea and Arsenal that season, with Martin Ødegaard leading Arsenal with 15 goals, while Chelsea’s top scorer finished with fewer.
Last season with Galatasaray, Osimhen finished with 22 league goals and 8 assists despite a few injury interruptions during the campaign. Across all competitions, he scored more goals than Arsenal’s top scorer, Viktor Gyökeres, managed throughout the season.
Reports have also suggested that Galatasaray could be willing to lower their asking price from €75 million to around €65 million, another indication that the Nigerian could be on the move this summer.
It sounds unfair for Arsenal to expect Osimhen to take a significant pay cut simply to make the move happen.
Osimhen has already proven himself in Italy and Turkey. At 27, he is in his prime, and any club that wants his services should be prepared to recognise his value.
