Arsenal's wage bill revealed to be half the size Manchester United's

Arsenal have impressed everyone this season, surpassing all prior expectations to head Manchester City by five points at the top of the Premier League table.

However, what makes their achievement all the more remarkable is that they have done so with a far smaller wage bill than some of their competitors and fierce rivals.

Interestingly, the Gunners rank sixth in terms of wage spend this season, one place lower than Spurs whose bill is just over £110 million.

Meanwhile, Manchester City are third on the list at £182.6 million, while Liverpool are just below at £158.8 million.

Suffice to say, if Arsenal do go on to win their first Premier League title in just under two decades, you can expect that wage bill to balloon as star players request better contract terms.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, we see two examples of clubs utilising their relatively modest resources to the absolute maximum.

Brentford's wage bill of just £30.1 million is the lowest in the league this season, while Brighton's is the second lowest, at £35.7 million.

Remarkably, Brighton and Brentford currently sit inside the top eight in the Premier League table, showing that financial muscle isn't the only indicator of success.

Struggers Leeds United have a wage bill of £50 million, while bottom club Southampton have spent over £20 million more on wages this season than Thomas Frank's Brentford.

Elsewhere, relegation threatened Everton have a much higher bill of £80.7 million, with West Ham United at just over £80 million.

Rather predictably, Nottingham Forest have the largest wage bill of the three teams that were promoted from the Championship last season, with their transfer activity yielding a bill of £67.5 million - which is around £11 million more than Fulham's.

Check out the full list for yourself below:

Chelsea (£212,090,000)

Manchester United (£211,875,000)

Manchester City (£182,640,000)

Liverpool (£158,788,000)

Tottenham Hotspur (£110,438,000)

Arsenal (£97,878,000)

Aston Villa (£89,880,000)

Everton (£80,707,000)

West Ham United (£80,060,000)

Newcastle United (£76,220,600)

Leicester City (£73,190,000)

Crystal Palace (£67,624,000)

Nottingham Forest (£67,460,000)

Fulham (£56,668,000)

Wolverhampton Wanderers (£52,702,000)

Southampton (£51,496,000)

Leeds United (£48,100,000)

AFC Bournemouth (£42,276,000)

Brighton and Hove Albion (£35,685,000)

Brentford (£30,170,000)