With the close of the summer transfer window on the 1st of September much has changed. An exceptionally busy, cost rich period for Tottenham and Chelsea, whilst Arsenal strengthened, and Fulham, Crystal Palace and Brentford made more low key targeted recruitments. A dramatic overhaul for some and a time of prudent consolidation for others.
Arsenal
PL champs Arsenal made several major purchases, spending lavishly on both midfield and defence. Their blockbuster acquisition was Bruno Guimaraes, recruited from Newcastle United for £75 million. They also signed Ezri Konsa from Aston Villa for £55 million, Piero Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen for £34.5 million and Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge for £34 million.
Arsenal also saw significant departures. Leandro Trossard to Besiktas, Gabriel Jesus to Barcelona and Jakub Kiwior went to Porto. As such the Gunners strengthened their defense and midfield but may have sacrificed some of their potent attack.
Chelsea
Big spenders Chelsea acquired attacking wing midfielder Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa for a whopping £117 million. While other weighty arrivals included Maxence Lacroix from Crystal Palace for £51 million, Geovany Quenda for £43.5 million and Marco Palestra for £43 million.
However, the Blues also waved goodbye to several key players. Enzo Fernandez joined Manchester City for a PL-record-equalling £125 million, while Nicolas Jackson moved to Aston Villa for £65 million and Marc Cucurella joined Real Madrid for £51.8 million. The hope will be that Rogers provides cover for the departed Fernandez, but the worry for manager Xabi Alonso will be that the boots are too big to fill.
Tottenham Hotspur
Of the London clubs Spurs have undoubtedly seen the most dramatic overhaul of their team. The Club let go of Luka Vuskovic, Alejo Véliz and Alfie Devine. But executed some ambitious spending with the major signing of Sandro Tonali, from Newcastle United, bought for a £100 million. Coupled with Mateus Fernandes from West Ham for £85 million and Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke for £52 million. The Lillywhites also added experience and depth in the free transfer market, picking up Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi and goalkeeper Martin Dubravka. And on deadline day they consolidated further with Mykhailo Mudryk on a season-long loan and Tosin Adarabioyo permanent from Chelsea.
Almost a year to the day former Tottenham Chairman Daniel Levy stepped down after nearly 25 years of tenure. Since his departure Spurs have spent £517 million on 15 players. This new outlook expresses a huge desire to become competitive again and challenge for a title. But so far this season Tottenham have failed to fire, losing their first 2 matches. However, a goalless draw yesterday against Nottingham Forest could be a move in the right direction.
Fulham
The Cottagers were far more conservative in their acquisitions. Choosing to focus on building a younger squad in line with new manager Alvaro Arbeloa and his methods. His links with Real Madrid opened the door to Gonzalo García from said club for around £34 million. Among others were Shea Charles from Southampton for £30 million and Hugo Larsson from Eintracht Frankfurt for £21 million and Real Madrid midfielder Cesar Palacios, while Manuel Angel and Jonah Kusi-Asare provided additional young talent. Meanwhile, Harry Wilson left for Leeds and Sasa Lukic and Issa Diop transferred to Ipswich.
Crystal Palace
The Eagles have also experienced substantial change. They sold centre-back Maxence Lacroix to Chelsea for £51 million, and brought in players such as Dwight McNeil, Oscar Mingueza, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Anan Khalaili and Evann Guessand on loan.
They also finalised a loan deal for Axel Disasi from Chelsea near the end of the window. Recruitment was therefore focused on replacing departing defenders while adding improved attacking options.
Brentford
The Bees have also rung the changes. Their big signing was midfielder Mamadou Sangare, arriving from Lens for around £39 million. They also purchased Jaidon Anthony from Burnley for £17 million and Jannik Schuster from Red Bull Salzburg for approximately £16.5 million. And free transfer Callum Wilson from West Ham will provide experience in attack.
However, they lost Jordan Henderson, who joined Chelsea, as well as Frank Onyeka, who moved to Coventry. In the final days of the window, Brentford also signed left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf from West Ham for £40 million.
Overall the summer of 2026 showed the contrasting strategies of London’s PL clubs. Chelsea and Tottenham spent big, attempting major squad transformations. Arsenal, meanwhile, prioritised defensive and midfield reinforcement as they seek to retain the PL title. Fulham looked to build a squad of dynamic younger players, while Crystal Palace and Brentford made targeted rebuilds following important departures. Whatever the strategy, each team will rely on their fresh troops to compete in a league where there are simply no easy games to be won.
Enjoy your football whoever you support.
Matt at premierlondonderbies.com