Following the trio's appointments, Arsenal produced a more aggressive stance in the following transfer market, allowing disgruntled star Alexis Sánchez depart to Manchester United in a swap-deal for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who was a player Arsenal had chased in the past. The club also allowed squad-fillers Francis Coquelin, Mathieu Debuchy, and Theo Walcott to leave, while brokering a deal to allow for the departure of Olivier Giroud, a noble servant to the club, for Chelsea. This was done after Arsenal were able to acquire the signing of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, one of the most coveted forwards in Europe, for a new club-record fee of £56 million. These additions were enough to bring Arsenal to the final of the 2017–18 EFL Cup, although, losing to rampant Manchester City 3–0. Arsenal would then go on their worst losing streak since 2002, losing four consecutive games in all competitions. The club also lost five out of seven league games by March 2018, scoring 12, and conceding 15. When factoring in all competitions, the club conceded an additional two, while registering only one more. This meant Arsenal conceded, on average, over twice a game – Arsenal were beginning to lose status as a big name in the football world.