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Mikel Arteta during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Brentford at Emirates Stadium, Arsenal, February 2023.

The Premier League net spend table since Mikel Arteta arrived at Arsenal

Mikel Arteta has said Arsenal aim to ‘build a winning team’ as they look to overhaul Manchester City at the Premier League summit – and the club’s board have certainly backed him in the transfer market since his arrival in December 2019.

Arteta has overhauled the Gunners squad he inherited from Unai Emery, shipping out highly-paid stars like Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and signing a selection of highly-rated young talent.

The likes of Ben White (£50million), Kai Havertz (£62million) and Gabriel Jesus (£45million) have arrived for big price-tags as Arteta admits that ‘talent comes at a price.’

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Marca, the Gunners boss indicated that long-term sustainability is at the heart of the club’s approach – but also said the Arsenal will ‘go to the market’ to find what they need to improve their team.

“We have already regenerated the squad, with a very young average and to generate performance and value,” he said. “We have some owners aligned with us: build a winning team that is sustained over time, without so much investment.

“But the demand is increasing and you have to go to the market to find what we do not have to continue improving.”

The Gunners were one of 20 clubs across Europe identified by UEFA in as at risk of having breached financial fair play regulations in 2021-22. In 2020, they were the highest net spenders in Europe.

“It depends on what you evaluate: net value or investment in one year, three years or 10 years? Or that you also value salaries,” Arteta argued.

“The investment point is one and the revaluation is perhaps more important: how much a player you buy is worth in ‘so many’ years. There is an investment with return and revaluation. That is our strategy to sustain ourselves.”

With the imminent arrival of Declan Rice from West Ham, here’s the net spend table since Arteta arrived at the Emirates three-and-a-half years ago.

Note: Figures are via transfermarkt and we’ve only included the 13 sides that have been ever-present in the Premier League over the time period covered.

1. Chelsea – €572.85million
2. Manchester United – €543.83million
3. Tottenham – €428.03million
4. Arsenal – €419.51million
5. Newcastle United – €400.02million
6. Liverpool – €297.9million
7. West Ham United – €280.51million
8. Manchester City – €169.93million
9. Aston Villa – €155.42million
10. Crystal Palace – €129.16million
11. Wolves – €102.18million
12. Everton – €7.15million
13. Brighton – €62.57million (profit)


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