During Sol Campbell’s time at Arsenal the club went toe-to-toe with Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United sides.

Now, having failed to sign an outfield player over the course of the summer, Campbell believes the Gunners are behind both Manchester clubs in the transfer market.

“You can’t compete with them,” FourFourTwo magazine quotes the defender as saying. “Man United had to spend money and it’s not worth talking about Man City because they’re in a different type of galaxy.”

The most recent transfer window saw Manchester United spend just short of £100m on players like Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin, Matteo Darmian and Anthony Martial. The Red Devils have won three of their opening four Premier League games despite playing unconvincing football as their new signings bed in.

On the other side of the city, fans at the Etihad Stadium spent over £140m on the likes of Nicolas Otamendi, Raheem Sterling and Kevin de Bruyne. Manuel Pellegrini’s side are in superb form so far, but Campbell knows that money alone won’t win titles.

“Doesn’t always bring you success though. The trouble with Arsenal is they’ve just got to get everyone fit. That’s the trouble already – there’s a few players out and we haven’t got that depth.”

Campbell was a free transfer himself, and the team that he went unbeaten in cost less than Raheem Sterling cost this summer. The Englishman wasn’t even as expensive as Belgian midfielder De Bruyne.

Cost isn’t relative to quality, and whether or not Arsenal feasibly could’ve signed anyone – particularly a striker – to actually improve the side is debatable.