Until January 31, the Premier League money men were unquestionably the two Manchester clubs. City and United have thrown millions of pounds in wages at players in order to secure the choicest targets.
Going into transfer deadline day, the Premier League top two - at the time of writing - had between them the eight best paid players in the top flight.
However, Arsenal have flexed their financial muscle in order to keep Mesut Ozil at the club, with a bumper three-and-a-half year deal worth £300,000 per week.
The extraordinary contract breaks the Mancunian pay duopoly, and makes Ozil the second best paid player in the Premier League.