Arsenal have spent nearly £400m on transfers over the past decade.
That pales into comparison, however, with the two Manchester clubs who each passed more than £800m.
The net transfer spending of both City and United is more than double any other English side over the last 10 years, while Brentford and Swansea are the savviest in the transfer market, according to new research.
While Man City’s net spend of £867m may have bankrolled league titles and domestic trebles, the study from Paddy Power found that their cross-town rivals have spent significantly more than several title-winners over the past decade.
The Red Devils have a total net spend of £814m – almost double that of third-highest spenders, Chelsea (£410m) – with current champions Liverpool spending £335m and 2015/16 title winners Leicester City spending just £141m.
Arsenal's spending comes in at £380m, meaning they are the fourth highest spenders in England.
Looking at all transfers conducted by the 92 Premier League and Football League clubs since the start of the 2011/12 season, surprising top 10 spenders include Aston Villa, West Ham and Brighton.
Arsenal are in the top four for the worst-balanced transfer dealers though – losing £244m more than local rivals Tottenham over the decade.
Rank
League
Club
Transfer balance
1
Premier League
Manchester City
-£867,280,000
2
Premier League
Manchester United
-£814,750,000
3
Premier League
Chelsea FC
-£410,310,000
4
Premier League
Arsenal FC
-£380,250,000
5
Premier League
Liverpool FC
-£335,580,000
6
Premier League
Everton FC
-£271,600,000
7
Premier League
Aston Villa
-£263,350,000
8
Premier League
West Ham United
-£256,830,000
9
Premier League
Brighton & Hove Albion
-£187,350,000
10
Premier League
Newcastle United
-£181,840,000
In fact, even Stoke City (£161m) made a greater loss than Spurs, with The Potters spending more than nine current Premier League teams.
Brentford have made the biggest profit in the transfer market, bringing in £81m more than they spent over the last 10 years.
Other profitable teams include Swansea and Birmingham – each making more than £60m over the period.
No current Premier League side has brought in more money in than they spent, but new boys Leeds have made the smallest loss of any top-flight team (£41m).
A spokesman for Paddy Power said: “Given how dominant Liverpool were last season, it’s impressive to consider how much lower their net spend is compared to their Premier League rivals."
