Arsenal spends 167.5 million while City and Liverpool rebuild

A team that was already the clear favorite to repeat as Premier League champions spent 167.5 million euros in this transfer window. Not to fill a hole. Not because it lacked quality. Simply because it could, and because it understood this is the moment to do it.

Arsenal already had one of the most complete squads in Europe. Even so, Mikel Arteta decided to add Bruno Guimarães, Piero Hincapié and Christos Tzolis, and everything suggests the list of signings isn't closed yet. The question that comes up is obvious: why reinforce something that already works? The answer has less to do with footballing urgency and more with a sharp read of where the Premier League stands right now.

Everyone else is rebuilding, Arsenal isn't

Manchester City, Arsenal's great rival in recent years, changed managers after Pep Guardiola left the bench having won six of the last nine English titles. On top of that came the departure of Rodri, a player who summed up almost everything City had been during its dominant stretch. Now it's Enzo Maresca who has to bring order to that locker room, and quickly.

Liverpool isn't in a stable place either. Mohamed Salah, the club's great offensive reference for years, left, and Andoni Iraola arrived to a bench that needs to find its own identity in short order. The calendar shows no mercy either: the season ahead is packed following the 2026 World Cup, leaving little room for lengthy adjustment periods.

Arsenal, on the other hand, has nothing to rebuild. Arteta has spent years with the same project, the players know the system, and the club has a structure that's already settled in. That stability, at a moment when everyone else is shuffling pieces, can be as valuable as any signing.

From one good XI to two full squads

The numbers behind these arrivals make the intent clear. Bruno Guimarães left Newcastle for 87.5 million euros to reinforce a midfield that was already strong. Hincapié arrived from Bayer Leverkusen for 40 million to add variety in defense. Tzolis, also for 40 million, expands the attacking options. These aren't patches: they're top tier reinforcements for a squad that already had top tier quality. Arsenal is coming off a Champions League final loss on penalties last season, so European ambition also factors into the equation. Winning a league title is one thing. Staying at the top for several years, in England and in Europe, demands something else: squad depth to sustain the level through a calendar that includes the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup, with injuries and dips in form that sooner or later show up.

That's the underlying logic: the gap between starter and backup should start to blur. It's not about having eleven top players, it's about having two full squads capable of competing at the highest level.

That bet, of course, comes at a cost. The more a club invests, the fewer excuses it has left if things don't go well. Arsenal can no longer hide behind a lack of depth or injuries. The standard now is different: it's not enough to compete with City or Liverpool, they have to be better than them.

That's why Arsenal keeps buying even with a squad that's already stacked. It doesn't want to wait for its rivals to finish settling in. It would rather arrive stronger right while they're still under construction.