Why Guardiola’s jab at Arsenal’s spending misses the mark | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has suggested that Arsenal are given an easy ride over their transfer spending compared to Manchester City.

Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images

Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s weekend game against Manchester City, Pep Guardiola sarcastically suggested that any success for the Gunners this season should be purely attributed to their spending – given how City have been treated over the years.

“I want to say to my friend Mikel Arteta, if he wins the title it will be just because he spent, not because he worked a lot, or his players,” Guardiola said.

“It’s like Liverpool. If Arne Slot wins again, it will be because he spent a lot of money. Right? Because it’s not just Man City that happened. It’s for all of them.

“I know how they’ve been treated is completely different, but what he wants to spend is because they want it and it’s fine. All I can say is they have been wise. They spent what they believe they can to compete against the best teams.”

Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images

There’s been a lot of talk about Arsenal’s spending this summer, with the Gunners investing heavily on eight signings.

Transfermarkt put the total for Arsenal’s summer transfer fees at €293.5m (£256m), and that’s not including the €52m (£45m) on Piero Hincapie delayed to 2026. Include that figure and you’re looking at a potential £300m summer of investment. It’s easily a club record.

Yet even then, in a record-breaking year for Arsenal, they haven’t spent as much as Manchester City have in 2025.

Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

Between the summer window and the January transfer window, Transfermarkt report that City have spent €424.9m (£370m). So in Arsenal’s biggest year ever, they’re lagging £70m behind Guardiola’s side.

Part of the reason Arsenal were able to spend so much money this summer was because they didn’t spend anything in January. They saved their money for the summer window, and they put off the Hincapie payment to next year.

But up in Manchester, Guardiola was able to drop €218m on January signings, and then spend another €207m in the summer too.

No delayed payments, no delayed signings. As soon as Guardiola wants a player, City pay up immediately. The City boss simply isn’t on a level-playing field with Arteta or anyone else.

Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images

For what it’s worth, Arne Slot and Liverpool’s spending does dwarf both Arsenal and City in 2025. Liverpool invested €484.7m (£423m) this year, quite a long way clear of their rivals.

But whilst Arsenal brought in around €35m in fees for sales and City racked up €70m, Transfermarkt put Liverpool at €219.5m. They spent the biggest, but their net spend was the smallest of the three.

Yet whether we use net spend or gross spend, City remain ahead of Arsenal, even in such a big year for the Gunners. There’s still no one with as much financial backing as Guardiola.