It may have taken a few rocky years and some sizable investments, but Arsenal are once again one of the best teams in Europe.

Mikel Arteta's side are top of the Premier League and have a real chance of winning the Champions League this year - should they finally get on over Bayern Munich, that is.

The Gunners have a team full of superstars, although it's one of the summer signings who could claim to be the most important, Declan Rice.

Declan Rice's valuation in 2024

Rice completed his long-awaited move to north London from West Ham United last July after what must've felt like a lifetime of back-and-forth negotiations for all involved.

There was a lot of pressure on the Englishman's shoulders to be the player to take the Gunners from last year's nearly men to this year's champions, and so far, it'd be fair to say he's hit those expectations if not exceeded them.

He's made 39 appearances for the side so far this season - and started 100% of league games - in which he has scored six goals and provided seven assists, becoming a key contributor in both defence and attack.

His brilliant form in red and white led to him captaining England for the first time on Tuesday night, and unsurprisingly, his valuation has steadily grown since his transfer.

According to Football Transfers' Expected Value Model, the 6 foot 1 titan was worth just €71m - £61m - in August 2023 but is now worth around €92m, which is about £79m, and while that's lower than the fee the Gunners paid for him in the summer, most fans were well aware that there was always going to be a premium upon his head should he leave the London Stadium.

However, his valuation is still significantly lower than the price that a former club great was sold for in the past, when converted to today's money.

Cesc Fàbregas' valuation in 2024

The player in question is former Spain international Cesc Fàbregas. While calling him a great of the club could be controversial given his move to Chelsea, there is no denying that when he wore the famous red and white of Arsenal, he was magnificent.

The Arenys de Mar-born phenom joined the Gunners from Barcelona as a child and became the youngest first-team player in the club's history when he made his debut in a League Cup clash in October 2003 at just 16 years and 177 days.

Over the next eight years, the "astonishing talent," as talent scout Jacek Kulig described him, made 303 appearances under Arsène Wenger, in which he scored 57 goals and provided 95 assists, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 1.99 games, which, given his age, was remarkable.

However, while he was dearly loved by the club and its fans, the call to return to Barcelona was too strong.

In the summer of 2011, he finally rejoined the Catalan side for a fee that, thanks to the clever people at Totally Money, can be converted into today's money.

Totally Money have taken the 100 most expensive transfers of all time across each season since 1992 in Europe's top five leagues. Armed with plenty of historical financial data they have calculated what footballers of yesteryear would be worth in the present day after taking into account the remarkable rate of inflation.

So, how much does it come to? Well, the £30m Arsenal received for the Spaniard in August 2011 would be a whopping £81m today, or around £2m more than Rice's current valuation.

Ultimately, while the club would surely have preferred to keep Fabregas at the club forever, the fee they received for him certainly looks generous by today's standards.