Man Utd stagnation in defence highlighted as Arsenal provide evolution blueprint
Manchester United have spent less on their defence in the last four years than any of their Big Six rivals – but Arsenal prove you don’t have to spend Chelsea money…
In Dave Tickner’s ‘10 gaping holes and concerns in Prem squads‘, this blew our tiny minds…
The alarming truth is that Manchester United are going to start the season with the same defence they started the season with four years ago. And they started that season by losing 2-1 to Brighton and 4-0 at Brentford to sit bottom of the league.
Consistency across a back four is rarely a bad thing, and United’s big successes have been built on stable defences. But – for so many reasons – Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw are not Irwin, Bruce, Pallister, Parker. Or Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra.
As Tickers says, it is ‘a dereliction of duty that United haven’t managed to improve upon any area of that defence in such a long time’.
At centre-back, it might not be for a lack of trying. But at full-back, the Red Devils have been woefully stagnant.
How do their efforts to evolve at the back compare to their Big Six rivals?
Here’s how much each of those clubs have spent on their defence since the closure of the summer 2022 window. Starting with the least…
Manchester United money spent on defence in four years: £104.2million
Sergio Reguilon (loan), Jonny Evans (free), Ayden Heaven (£1m), Noussair Mazraoui (£12.8m), Matthijs De Ligt (£38.4m), Leny Yoro (£52m)
United seemed to recognise a need to reinforce their defence in the summer of 2024, when they spent all of that £104.2million in one summer window. In the seven other windows since the summer of 2022, their defensive recruitment amounts to Reguilon on loan – he made four Premier League starts – and Jonny Evans, who initially came in just to keep fit.
At least they have tried to strengthen at centre-back, but De Ligt can’t stay fit and Yoro is way, way off being the player United hoped he would be when they supposedly beat Real Madrid to his signature.
That United haven’t taken decisive steps to improve their full-back options is damning indeed.
Arsenal money spent on defence in four years: £145.6million
Piero Hincapie (£45m), Cristhian Mosquera (£13m), Riccardo Calafiori (£33.6m), Jurrien Timber (£34m), Jakub Kiwior (£20m)
Arsenal started the 2022/23 season with Gabriel and William Saliba at the heart of their defence but that hasn’t stopped Mikel Arteta from strengthening around the centre-back pair.
Ben White was also at right-back in an opening-day win at Palace, but Arsenal have still signed three top-class full-backs since, plus Mosquera who can play wide, pretty much at a rate of one per summer.
Arsenal have actually made fewer defensive signings than United but the Gunners have certainly acted with more intent, attending to their back line every year during their evolution to becoming Premier League champions.
Liverpool money spent on defence in four years: £150.5million
Milos Kerkez (£40m), Jeremie Frimpong (£29.5m), Giovanni Leoni (£26m), Jeremy Jacquet (£55m), Ronald Araujo (loan)
The Reds went four years and seven windows without signing a defender between Ibrahima Konate in 2021 and Frimpong in 2025.
For much of that period, Jurgen Klopp had them well set. Konate, Van Dijk, Roberton and Alexander-Arnold were not only one of the most formidable defences but also among the most consistent for availability.
Only last season, when Alexander-Arnold left and others began to creak, did they appear short at the back, which they have addressed by spending more in three windows on their defence – plus Araujo on loan – than United have in eight. Still, we wait to see how fruitful their investments will be.
Tottenham Hotspur money spent on defence in four years: £173.7million
Pedro Porro (£40m), Micky van de Ven (£34m), Radu Dragușin (£26.7m), Kevin Danso (£21m), Jan Paul Van Hecke (£52m), Marcos Senesi (free), Andrew Robertson (free)
Spurs may have been dreadful for the last couple of seasons, but they have still signed world-class defenders in Porro and Van de Ven.
And the three defensive signings they have made this summer all look set to give Roberto De Zerbi a solid foundation.
They also bought and sold Luka Vuskovic in this time frame, making a profit of around £34million on a player who never played a senior game.
Manchester City money spent on defence in four years: £244.8million
Josko Gvardiol (£77.6m), Matheus Nunes (£53m), Vitor Reis (£29.6m), Abdukodir Khusanov (£33.6m), Rayan Ait-Nouri (£31m), Marc Guehi (£20m).
Gvardiol aside, this was City adding to a Treble-winning defence. And Gvardiol signed in the same week United rolled out their current back four at Brentford.
Which leaves City with Guehi, Khusanov, Gvardiol and Ruben Dias as their centre-back options. United have Maguire, Martinez, De Ligt, Yoro as their first four.
Would City take any of United’s over theirs? Would they f***.
Chelsea money spent on defence in four years: £302.1million
Malo Gusto (£35m), Benoit Badiashile (£35m), Axel Disasi (£38.8m), Aaron Anselmino (£15m), Renato Veiga (£12m), Tosin Adarabioyo (free), Jorrel Hato (£37m), Mamadou Sarr (£12m), Maxence Lacroix (£52m), Marco Palestra (£49m), Pep Chavarria (£16.3m).
In the weeks between United’s current back four being ripped apart at Brentford and the end of the summer 2022 window, Chelsea also signed Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana for a combined £120million – more than United have spent on their defence since – to supplement the arrival of Kalidou Koulibaly earlier that summer.
Obviously, no club should compare themselves to Chelsea when it comes to transfers and recruitment. And despite all the money spent, Xabi Alonso still looks short at the back. Especially in goal.
