page_title: 2014–15 Arsenal F.C. season
section_title: Transfers
hierarchical_section_title: 2014–15 Arsenal F.C. season / Review / Pre-season / Transfers
caption_attribution_description: Español: Alexis Sánchez, futbolista chileno.
context_page_description: The 2014–15 season was Arsenal's 23rd season in the Premier League and 95th consecutive season in the top flight of English football. This season Arsenal participated in the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Community Shield and the UEFA Champions League. In the League an inconsistent first half of the season ended any realistic hopes for the title as Arsenal only won two out of their first eight games, with numerous injuries to important players. At one stage, Arsenal were as low as eighth heading into early December. In the second half of the season their form recovered massively, which included an eight game winning run between February and April.
  In Europe, despite being widely expected to reach the quarter-finals, being favourites in the Round of 16 tie against AS Monaco, Arsenal surprisingly losing the first leg 3–1, a scoreline which ultimately proved fatal over the course of the tie as despite a 2–0 away win, Arsenal were knocked out via away goals in the Round of 16 for the fifth consecutive year.
context_section_description: On 29 May 2014, a little over a fortnight from the end of the previous season, cup-winning goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański departed for Welsh club Swansea City upon the completion of his contract, citing his need to be a first-choice keeper given the stage of his career the Pole was entering. Fabiański left with 78 appearances and 25 clean sheets for Arsenal, as well as a winner's medal on his final appearance for the club. The 2014 FA Cup Final also turned out to be the final appearance for Bacary Sagna for Arsenal, as he agreed to join Manchester City upon the completion of his contract. Sagna had an illustrious seven-year period with the club, making 284 appearances for club with the Frenchman becoming an integral part of the Arsenal defence following his transfer from Auxerre. Unfortunately, Sagna did have to respond to distaste from some club supporters over the nature of his move to a Premier League rival, citing the move on the need to boost his career as a player, as opposed to the monetary incentives claimed.
  Furthermore, on 26 June, Arsenal announced that 11 players were to depart the club upon their contract expiration on 30 June. The most notable players leaving that were not previously documented included Nicklas Bendtner, who made 169 appearances during his nine-year stint at the club, scoring 47 goals, including the winner against Ipswich Town that took the Gunners to the 2011 League Cup Final and the sole Arsenal goal in a 4–1 loss at the Camp Nou against Barcelona. In addition, Park Chu-young left the club having made seven appearances in three years that included two year-long loans spells to Celta de Vigo and Watford. He scored a single goal for the club in a League Cup tie against Bolton Wanderers. Emiliano Viviano and Kim Källström both departed the club following the expiration of their loan deals, returning to parent clubs Palermo and Spartak Moscow respectively. Lastly, Real Sociedad confirmed Arsenal had sold their remaining contractual rights on Carlos Vela for a fee believed to be around £12 million. This enabled Real Sociedad to have full control over the player's contract, relinquishing any ability for Arsenal to buy Vela for a pre-determined fee.
  Amongst the 11 player departures were four reserve-team players after they too reached the end of their current contracts. The most notable departing player was Chuks Aneke whose development was somewhat hindered by the lack of first-team action. As a result, he joined Zulte Waregem on a Bosman free transfer citing the Belgian style of play as his deciding factor. The remaining players whose contracts were not renewed included Daniel Boateng, Leander Siemann, Zak Ansah and Zach Fagan, the latter two joining Charlton Athletic and Welling United respectively.
  Arsenal announced their first signing on the eve of their kit launch with the much-anticipated Chilean forward Alexis Sánchez joining the club on a long term contract from Barcelona for an undisclosed fee, thought to be around £35 million. It was the second largest transfer fee the club had paid for a single player at the time of the transfer and was the marquee signing fans had been calling for. With the ability to play in many positions, manager Wenger praised the added "power, creativity and much quality" the player would add to the squad, with Sánchez himself praising the manager, squad and fan support. A week later, the club announced the signing of French international Mathieu Debuchy from Newcastle United for an undisclosed fee thought to be around £12 million. He became a direct replacement for the departing Bacary Sagna and in turn was the second signing of the summer transfer window for Arsenal. On 27 July, the club announced the signing of Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina from French club Nice for an undisclosed fee, thought to be around £3.2 million. A replacement for the departing Łukasz Fabiański, he was also signed to compete with Wojciech Szczęsny for the number one spot. He became Arsenal's third first team signing bringing the total money spent above the spendings of the previous s
caption: Alexis Sánchez joined for an undisclosed fee from Barcelona
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