Alan Shearer names 'big difference' with Arsenal title bid but makes £100m Liverpool error

Alan Shearer has provided what he believes is the “big difference” in Arsenal’s hopes of a title charge this season. The former Newcastle and Blackburn striker has made his view clear that following the Gunners' summer spending, second place is simply not good enough.

“It has to be Arsenal’s year to win the Premier League,” he told Betfair. “They've spent an absolute fortune, finished second for the last three years, so we know, and Arteta knows that the eyes will be on him and he has to win the Premier League this year.

“When you spend the amount of money that they have, second is no good. They're strong, have had a really tough start and they've come through it. That's great credit to Mikel Arteta.

“If you look at the substitutes bench from last season against West Ham in February, compared to now, there are only two players on that bench from what there was last weekend.

“The big difference is that, when Martin Odegaard went off, he was replaced by Zubimendi. That's the difference.”

Where Shearer is certainly correct is the depth that the Gunners now possess, which positions them so strongly in the race for the title. Beyond Martin Zubimendi replacing Martin Odegaard, they have lost Kai Havertz, Piero Hincapie, William Saliba, Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke and Gabriel Jesus already this season and yet still sit top of the tree.

However, the irony of course remains that in terms of 2025 spending, Arsenal have spent less than both Liverpool and Manchester City on their squad. Arne Slot has invested more than £400million into his team, breaking records for the likes of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak.

City added close to £180million in this summer transfer window on top of the roughly £210million spent in the January window at the start of the year, which saw Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, and Abdukodir Khusanov, among others, join the group.

Arsenal have spent at least £100million less than both this year and yet the talk remains that after their spending they must win the league. It is always intriguing just how spending is perceived when shown so glaringly to be different than the reality many see it as.

Story Saved

You can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.