This isn't the first time Chelsea's spending habits in the transfer market have come under scrutiny. Rewind to the summer of 2003 – the first after Roman Abramovich purchased the club from Ken Bates – and there was a predictable outcry from Premier League rivals.
"Roman Abramovich has parked his Russian tank in our front garden and is firing £50 notes at us," said David Dein, then-Arsenal vice chairman, in the summer of 2003. The Gunners were London's dominant side at that stage. Premier League titles had been claimed and another followed; Arsene Wenger's side went unbeaten in the top flight in 2003/04.
Yet Abramovich's riches soon resulted in a shift of power. Chelsea knocked Arsenal out of the Champions League in 2004 and the arrival of Jose Mourinho the following summer firmly ensconced the Blues at the top of the English game.
