Morgan Rogers said he was joining "the biggest club in London" after completing a £117million British record transfer to Chelsea from Aston Villa. Elliot Anderson made a similar claim about his new club after his £116million move to Manchester City, saying, "For as long as I've known, Manchester City have been the Kings of Manchester."
Rogers' comment reignited the debate over which club is really the biggest in London, after Chelsea finished 33 points behind Premier League champions Arsenal last season. Here is how the two clubs compare across trophies, league history, attendances, transfer spending, star power and social media.
Trophies
Arsenal have won 14 league titles to Chelsea's 6, and 14 FA Cups to Chelsea's 8. Chelsea lead the League Cup count 5 to 2 and hold two Champions Leagues, two Europa Leagues and a UEFA Conference League, competitions Arsenal have never won. Chelsea also have two Club World Cups, two UEFA Super Cups, two UEFA Cup Winners' Cups and two Full Members' Cups, while Arsenal have one Cup Winners' Cup and one Inter Cities Fairs Cup. Arsenal lead the Community Shield 17 to 4.
Arsenal lost this year's Champions League semi-final on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain, and Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Crystal Palace have all won a European trophy more recently than Arsenal. Chelsea have claimed they are the only club in history to win every major European trophy.
League position
Since Arsenal joined the Football League in 1893, their average league finish is 8.3, compared with 12.7 for Chelsea and 11.7 for Tottenham. Across the 110 seasons in which both clubs have existed, Arsenal have finished higher than Chelsea in 77 of them.
In the Premier League era the two clubs have each finished higher than the other 17 times, though 16 of Chelsea's came during an 18-season spell from 2004-05 to 2022-23. Arsenal's average Premier League finish of 3.8 still betters Chelsea's 5. Arsenal are the current champions after finishing second in three of the last four seasons, while Chelsea finished 10th and 12th in that period.
Stadium and crowd
Arsenal moved into the Emirates Stadium in 2006. Chelsea had marginally bigger crowds than Arsenal for five years before that move, but across their full histories Arsenal have had the greater average attendances. Chelsea's average crowd dropped below 13,000 in the early 1980s.
Islington Council estimated that more than a million people attended Arsenal's Premier League title parade in May. Chelsea's 2015 title parade drew around 70,000 people, while around 200,000 turned out for their first parade under manager Jose Mourinho in 2005.
Spending power
Chelsea's net spend over the past five years is more than £800million, which is nearly £150million more than any other Premier League club and £262million more than Arsenal. Chelsea posted a Premier League-record pre-tax loss of £262.4million earlier this year for the 2024-25 season.
- Arsenal's biggest signings: Declan Rice (£105m), Nicolas Pepe (£72m), Eberechi Eze (£67.5m), Kai Havertz (£65m), Viktor Gyokeres (£64m), Martin Zubimendi (£60m)
- Chelsea's biggest signings: Morgan Rogers (£117m), Moises Caicedo (£115m), Enzo Fernandez (£106.8m), Romelu Lukaku (£97.5m), Mykhaylo Mudryk (£88.5m), Kai Havertz (£75.8m)
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire recently listed the biggest wage bills in Premier League history, adjusted for football inflation, and Chelsea made up eight of the top 10, all from seasons between 2003-04 and 2010-11. Arsenal's first appearance on the list, their 2011-12 season, ranks 51st, behind 16 Chelsea seasons, 17 Manchester United seasons, 12 Manchester City seasons and five Liverpool seasons.
Even so, Arsenal's revenue across their last two sets of results was £691million to Chelsea's £491million. Rice remains Arsenal's only signing above £100million, while Chelsea now have three in Rogers, Caicedo and Fernandez.
Star power
Arsenal's Premier League-era managers include Arsene Wenger, Unai Emery and Mikel Arteta. Chelsea have had Mourinho twice, plus Carlo Ancelotti, Rafa Benitez, Antonio Conte, Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Liam Rosenior.
On the pitch, Arsenal point to Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira and now Bukayo Saka. Chelsea point to Didier Drogba, Eden Hazard and Cole Palmer. Arsenal have taken on two of Chelsea's former players in Havertz and Noni Madueke, and both are now Premier League champions.
Arsenal also lead in producing England players. The involvement of Rice, Madueke, Saka and Eze in England's World Cup quarter-final against Norway took the club past 1,000 caps for Arsenal players. Chelsea, who became the first club to field an all-foreign starting team in 1999, stand at fewer than 750 caps.
Social media
Chelsea have more followers than Arsenal across X, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube, by a combined total of more than 33 million.
Insider's view
Chelsea have previously trademarked the branding "CFC LDN." Asked which club was London's biggest, one Arsenal source replied, "There's only one answer."
A prominent agent who has dealt with both clubs told Daily Mail Sport: "The way Arsenal conduct themselves comes from a place of prestige. Chelsea have more of a big-club approach in the way they get things done. They are very much: if we want the player, we will do what it takes to get them. Put our cards on the table. That is a big-club mentality."
The agent added: "There's definitely two different cultures, through which both see themselves as the biggest club in London but go about it in a different way. Arsenal are like your old money, slightly entitled aristocrat who can fall back on title and family history. Chelsea are the nouveau riche, super successful city worker who isn't shy about showing off how much money they have and uses that to drive more success."
Chelsea finished 33 points behind champions Arsenal last season, despite record spending under their BlueCo ownership. On trophies and social media it is a tie, and Chelsea lead on spending power, but Arsenal come out ahead on league history, attendances and the insider verdict.
