With the late 2000s, I presume you mean the early 2000s.
It wasn't very little money Woolwich got for their sales back then.
Overmars (who was a flop at Barca) cost £25m, which made him the most expensive Dutch player at the time
At the age of 30, Henry cost Barca £24m. He also did not perform well there. Petit was 30, Sanchez 30, van Persie 29, Vermaelen 29, Kolo 29, when they left Woolwich.
Wenger only extended players over 30 with 1 year at a time. Below is a list of the big sales under Wenger, and many of those players were 30 or close to 30s when they were sold. It sounds like very good business to me.
Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool for €42
Anelka to Real M for €39
Fabregas to Barca for €37m
Song to Barca for €20m
Petit to Barca for €15m
Vermaelen to Barca for €20m
Adebayor to Man City for €32m
Nasri to Man City for €30m
Kolo Toure to Man City for $20m
Alexis Sanchez to Man Utd for €37m
van Persie to Man Utd for €34m
Walcott to Everton for €25m
Diese Übersicht listet alle Spieler auf, die während aller Amtszeiten des Trainers Arsène Wenger verkauft wurden.
www.transfermarkt.us