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Arsenal and Manchester United are streets ahead of big-four rivals Manchester City and Chelsea when it comes to player development and polishing rough diamonds.

According to a new study by the Swiss-based CIES Football ­Observatory, seen exclusively by Sunday Mirror Sport, the value of the squads assembled at the Emirates and Old Trafford far outstrips the prices that both clubs paid for them.

The opposite is true at Chelsea and Manchester City. The Annual ­Football Observatory report suggests that Arsenal’s squad is currently worth £119m more than Arsene Wenger paid for it.

The squad David Moyes’ inherits at Manchester United, meanwhile, is worth £78m more than the transfer fees paid by his predecessor Sir Alex Ferguson.

Across the city at The Etihad, the Football Observatory have calculated that, in the current ­market, there’s a £51m shortfall between the transfer fees paid and those likely to be recouped by Manchester City’s billionaire owners.

(Image: Reuters)

It’s a similar story at Stamford Bridge, with the squad of new boss Jose Mourinho now worth £31m less than the enormous sums splashed on flops such as Fernando Torres and Marko Marin.

Arsenal have proved the masters of picking up bargains overseas and then transforming them into players of the very highest calibre.

But it’s Manchester United who lead the way when it comes to turning potential talent into the finished product. The Observatory estimates that Manchester United’s current squad has a value of £422m, ahead of Chelsea’s £405m and Manchester City’s £391m.

Arsenal’s squad is valued at £316m, ahead of Spurs (£266m) and ­Liverpool (£249m).

The Premier League team with the lowest value squad is Fulham, with the Observatory believing the ­Craven Cottage playing staff to be worth just £40m, placing it behind recently relegated pair Reading (£42m) and Wigan Athletic (£44m). Despite the incredible wealth of the Premier League big guns, none of them is likely to be writing out a cheque to sign Lionel Messi anytime soon.

At 25, the Argentinian is ­approaching his peak, which is why it would take a mind-blowing £215m to prize him from Barcelona’s grasp.

That Observatory price makes him TWICE as valuable as Cristiano ­Ronaldo (£100m) and FIVE times more ­expensive than Gareth Bale (£43m), should the Spurs star ­decide to leave White Hart Lane.

For more information, visit http://www.football-observatory.com/