New numbers expose how good Mikel Arteta really has been

In the next fortnight, will Mikel Arteta land the big trophies that his work at Arsenal has merited? In the Premier League, victories over Burnley and then Crystal Palace on the final day will see the Gunners claim a first Premier League title in 22 years, ending their sequence of three successive runners-up finishes. It could be done before Sunday, if they beat Burnley and Manchester City do not win against Bournemouth, a side unbeaten in 16, by the South Coast 24 hours later.

Then, attention will turn to the Gunners' first Champions League Final for two decades, taking on holders Paris Saint-Germain at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest. Given the lack of silverware so far, hopefully that is about to change, it is sometimes possible to lose perspective, thinking back to where this club was when Arteta arrived, as well as what they are up against.

According to recent data, since the start of the 2021/22 season, Arsenal rank fifth in the Premier League when it comes to spending. With total net spend on transfers taken into account, as well as wage expenditure, the Gunners have spent significantly less than some of their rivals, despite accumulating more points during this period.

Premier League's top 5 expenditure & points (21/22-25/26)

Note: Points tallies are correct as of 17 May 2026.

Across the last five seasons, Arsenal have spent around 35% less on net transfer spend and wages than Manchester City. Of course, Chelsea lead the way across the planet when it comes to this, given whatever is going on over there under BlueCo, but yielding almost 100 fewer points than Arsenal despite this.

Looking at this year's top two, yes the Sky Blues have accumulated more points over the given time frame, but that's largely because Man City ended up 24 points above in 2021/22. Simply looking at the last four seasons, Pep Guardiola's team have picked up 328 points to Arteta's 326, so it could hardly be closer with both sides having two fixtures still to play.

Of course, there is no trophy for this, but there might just about to be one, or perhaps two, as belated recognition of this team's efforts. Nevertheless, the spend context is a reminder of just how impressive it is first and foremost to compete. All else being equal, Man City should win every competition they enter, considering they have, by some distance, the highest wage bill across all of Europe. There are may well be 115 other reasons for this.

So, full credit to Jürgen Klopp and Arne Slot's Liverpool for breaking up the Citizens' monopolisation of titles, proving it can be done. Arsenal have no divine right to win this league and doing so would be a major achievement, not the "well it's about time" zeitgeist that seems to exist. Let's just hope, in the next fortnight, this discussion is put to bed once and for all and Arteta will be hoisting aloft the accolades he deserves.

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