Arsenal's transfer misery as Liverpool and Chelsea put Mikel Arteta's woes into perspective

Arsenal are slowly but surely bridging the gap between themselves and the title contenders, but their inability to sell players for significant fees could hold them back.

The Gunners failed to bolster their ranks in the January transfer window, but not for the want of trying.

Mikel Arteta was desperate to sign a striker and a midfielder last month but moves for Dusan Vlahovic, who joined Juventus from Fiorentina instead, and Arthur Melo, who was not allowed to leave Juventus, never materialised.

But after a summer spending spree of approximately £150m on young talent, it is clear to see that the North London outfit have every intention of re-establishing themselves as one of the top clubs in the country.

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But CIES Football Observatory may have highlighted why the club have a battle on their hands if Arsenal are to achieve that goal.

Their recent study shows that the Gunners have earned just £377m from player sales over the last 10 years, which is significantly less than the clubs that they want to be able to go toe to toe with.

In contrast, Liverpool have earned themselves £660m from sales during that time and Manchester City have gained £604m from outgoings in the last century.

Chelsea’s outgoings figure sits head and shoulders above the rest, both in the Premier League and also all top leagues in Europe, collecting an almighty total of £1,015,225,101 from sales.

With other top clubs generating such significant amounts from player sales, Arteta will be questioning why his club aren’t able to ensure their outgoings are providing him with an improved budget.

And transfer fees are set to continue to avoid the Emirates Stadium