Rivals fume that “Arteta’s just a chequebook manager!” Let’s check the numbers.

Last summer, Arsenal were grilled for “wasting” £54m on Ben White when Man U were the savvier club for getting Varane for only £35m. We were pilloried for spend £25m on twice-relegated Ramsdale, and now Man U are praised for spending £46m on Onana—whom Inter had gotten on a free transfer the year before.

Fast forward to this current window, and we’re being criticised for having spent £200m on players. Arteta, it seems, is in fact Guardiola’s pupil; he learned to spend and spend and spend some more. He’s a fraud with more follicles and nothing more. I just hope that Stan stays solvent…

As usual, reality is a bit more nuanced. Yes, we’ve seen a massive surge in spending since Arteta was hired in December 2019 (well, really, since the summer of 2021). However, as you can see from this graphic, the gap to the biggest spenders is still considerable, all the more so when you look at wages.

One caveat: this chart does not include our signing of Raya, nor does it include Liverpool’s (or will it be Chelsea’s) imminent signing of Caicedo or Tottenham’s sale of Kane.

Still, let’s not bog down too much in details. Big picture. Forest, not trees. It pulls together data from Swiss Ramble and Capology, two of the best sources available for this kind of financial data.

Keep in mind that these figures are ballpark estimates. No club—with the possible exception of Man City (pure as the driven snow, they are)—is ever fully open with their financial details.

Still, despite all the sturm und drang around our spending, it’s remarkable to see the yawning chasm that still separates us from the four clubs above, if not for total net spend then certainly for wages. Yes, we’ve paid a lot in fees and have been woeful in selling players on.

If you can find a club willing to pay actual money for the likes of Cedric, Elneny, Holding, or Pepe, among others, do us both a favour and stop wasting your time at this puny blog. Ring up Edu and let him know you’ve rendered him redundant.

You’d be hard-pressed to mount a case against the spending this club has actually done. By contrast with clubs like Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Man U, Arsenal had few if any top-shelf players when Arteta arrived.

Aubameyang was all but riding off into the sunset with his antics starting to eclipse his production. Pépé and Lacazette were still somewhat desirable. Özil was in decline, be that down to injuries, diffidence, or off-pitch issues. In short, it was a squad in dire need of a complete, top-to-bottom overhaul.

We might be victims of our own somewhat-sanctimonious insistence that we be a self-sustaining club. To be more-honest, we might victims of Arsène’s somewhat-sanctimonious insistence that we be a self-sustaining club.

Well, we must discard this insistence, much like the boxer must shed roll after roll of sweaty, useless, disgusting flab before we can win the title.

Of course, winning the title turns on such fine margins and inches and PGMOL-ian incompetences that it’s hard to know just what all of this spending, whether it’s ours or Man City’s or Liverpool’s, will bring.

It’s still Man City’s title to lose, after all, even if we pin hopes to them feeling a bit sated after the treble and after losing the influential Gündoğan (oh, yes, and Mahrez). Liverpool are certainly back in the mix after signing Mac Allister and Szoboszlai and seeing the returns to fitness of Jota and Diaz.

Beyond them, there’s a chance that Man U will join the fray, especially if new signing Højlund can kick on. Signings, signings, signings. Apparently, they’re the glue that holds together the gears of a club’s ability to compete. Who knew?