Manchester City and Arsenal recorded the 'most valuable' match of all time when the two teams went head-to-head during this season's Community Shield back in August.
Mikel Arteta's side got the early title-race bragging rights at Wembley Stadium thanks to their penalty shootout win, with the Gunners currently leading the way in the Premier League table heading into the busy festive period.
Breaking the record previously set by Liverpool and Manchester City in the 2019 edition, Arsenal and Pep Guardiola's side had a whopping joint squad-worth of over €1.77 billion (£1.53 billion), according to TransferMarkt.
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It is no surprise that records of this ilk continue to be broken, especially given Man City's continued backing by their ownership group.
But Arsenal, who invested shrewdly during the summer months, spent over £200m themselves on Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber as they seek to end their three-year wait for a trophy this season.
City bolstered their own ranks by bringing in Mateo Kovacic, Josko Gvardiol, Matheus Nunes and Jeremy Doku, with the focus on retaining the three trophies they won during their impressive treble-winning 2022/23 campaign while becoming the first-ever English team to win four top-flight crowns in a row.
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Erling Haaland continues to be valued as one of the most expensive players in world football, and, given his impressive on-field performances last season, his price is currently marked at a lofty €180 million (£156 million).
Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice are all valued in the upper regions of €100 million (£86.7 million) with the price of English players continuing to rise year-on-year as we have seen in recent seasons.
Premier League clubs collectively spent an eye-watering $2.9 billion (£2.36 billion) during the 2023 summer transfer window, exceeding the $2.46 billion (£1.92 billion) spent the summer before.
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With qualification to competitions like the UEFA Champions League now seen as such a prized accomplishment, we won't be surprised if that figure is once again broken in the not-so-distant future.
Featured Image Credit: GettyTopics: Manchester City, Arsenal, Community Shield