Arsenal's failed £870m transfer mission that Edu and Mikel Arteta have finally woken up to

The cries of ‘You spend. We spend’ seem something of a distant memory for Arsenal supporters. For years, supporters cried out for Arsenal’s owners to put their hands in their pockets and spend money.

The summer of 2015 saw Arsenal bring in just Petr Cech ahead of a season whereby Leicester City would win the league and the Gunners would finish second. Had they invested more, perhaps a title could have been within their grasp.

However, the perception of Arsenal’s spending has continued to confuse. Some believe the club continues to need greater investment despite the reality of the club's outlay on players being significantly higher than many of their rivals. It is a fact that Arsenal are one of the highest spending clubs regarding transfers not just in England but the world.

Recent publications of the money spent by clubs courtesy of CIES Football Observatory detail how much Arsenal have tried to further their squad with heavy spending.

Only Manchester City and Liverpool have spent more than Arsenal on players since the summer of 2012. The Gunners’ total spend comes to a staggering €1.029 billion (£870 million).

Despite this, it is clear that Arsenal have fallen away from their rivals and back-to-back eighth-place finishes stand as clear evidence of this slide.

Arsenal competed in their first season this millennium outside of men’s European competition.

Arsene Wenger, Unai Emery and now Mikel Arteta have overseen major investment but with the reward restricted to FA Cups. Far from the ambitions of Premier League title races and Champions League competitiveness.

Made worse is the fact Arsenal have struggled to make back much of the one-plus billion euros spent on players in this time. Arsenal have recouped less than half