How Arsenal and Chelsea's wage bills compare as Mikel Arteta's huge spending scrutinised

Arsenal have spent huge sums in their quest for Premier League glory

Arsenal have heavily backed Mikel Arteta financially as the club seek to end their wait for a Premier League title. The Gunners boasted a five-point lead at the top of the table after their emphatic 4-1 win in the north London derby last weekend.

It was a welcome result for Arsenal, not only to claim bragging rights over Spurs but also to serve as a perfect response after their disappointing draw to Wolves. The team came under scrutiny after letting a two-goal lead slip, leading to mounting pressure on the league leaders.

Although Arteta is seeking to end a 22-year title drought, there is a sense of expectation that Arsenal ought to get over the line this term, particularly as other contenders have faltered. As the club prepare to face Chelsea on Sunday, there is no doubt that the club have backed the manager through the salaries that the Gunners are willing to pay compared to their London rivals.

Arsenal’s wage bill is reportedly the second-highest in the league, behind only Manchester City. This means that Arsenal pay more in wages than Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea, despite the latter being considered to have a large squad.

It was recently announced that Bukayo Saka had signed a lucrative new contract. The deal makes him the club’s highest-paid player on £300,000 per week, with Arsenal further widening the wage gap to the teams below them and increasing the pressure on the club to finally clinch the Premier League title.

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Spotrac previously stated that Arsenal spent £189,956,000 annually on wages for their first team squad. However, Saka’s salary increase from £195,000 per week equates to another £5.46million each year, taking the new total to £195.416million.

This sum is significantly larger than Chelsea’s estimated wage bill of £153.296m, which sits fifth in the Premier League, also behind Liverpool (£176.8m) and Manchester United (£167.492m). The club adopt a more youth-focused approach to recruitment, leading to lower salaries than Arsenal.

According to Spotrac, Chelsea captain Reece James is the club’s most well-paid player on £250,000 a week. Wesley Fofana is the only other Chelsea player reported to be earning a weekly wage of £200,000 or more.

Arsenal have several players, including Saka, who are paid more than Chelsea’s top earner. Kai Havertz (£280,000), Gabriel Jesus (£265,000) command bigger salaries than James, while William Saliba (£250,000), Declan Rice (£240,000) and Martin Odegaard (£240,000) earn the same or just slightly less than the Chelsea skipper.

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Overall, seven Arsenal players earn £200,000 per week or more, compared to Chelsea’s two. Meanwhile, Moises Caidedo and Cole Palmer are among Chelsea’s best players but both rank outside the club’s top-five best-paid stars, with weekly wages of £150,000 and £130,000, respectively.

Only Man City are claimed to spend more on wages than Arsenal, with Spotrac listing their annual salary spend as £248.835m. Erling Haaland’s wages far exceed his teammates’ with an approximate weekly salary of £525,000.

However, City’s second-highest earner Bernardo Silva earns the same as the reported wages in Saka’s fresh contract, with Omar Marmoush narrowly behind the Portuguese midfielder on £295,000. Illustrating the different pay scale between Pep Guardiola’s side and Chelsea, all of John Stones, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ruben Dias and January signing Marc Guehi are paid the same as James.

While there is a sizeable gap between City and Arsenal’s outlay, it does demonstrate that the Gunners are one of the best-placed sides financially to challenge the club’s recent dominance. Saka’s new deal shows that the Gunners are willing to pay top-tier wages and the club can begin to fulfil their ambitions by ending the season with silverware.