So there we are, we all now finally know how it feels to be involved properly in transfer deadline day.
Arsene Wenger knew that his squad needed major strengthening in this window, in fact he's known for a while. I am not going to go into my annoyance that deals weren't completed much earlier or how much early signings would have helped our appalling start to the season, it's not the day for that, I will however congratulate Arsenal on what has in my opinion turned out to be a very, very decent transfer window.
All summer fans and pundits alike have screamed that we must strengthen our defence. I have always been a fan of a Vermaelen & Koscielny partnership but when TV5 is out for whatever reason our defence just corrodes away to dust. Clichy left early in the summer and with Gibbs very injury prone and Traore.......well, shit, a left back was another must.
Wenger responded by brining in Jenkinson quite early on for a tiny fee of £1m. Jenkinson's role will be as backup for our full backs but has already been called into action and (Utd game aside) he's done very well. Transfer deadline day saw confirmation of two more defenders. Andre Santos was the first to be confirmed, the Brazilian left back made 52 appearances for Fenerbahce last season scoring 10 goals - at this point I'll remind you he's a left back - I just wonder how long it will be until he passes Clichy's grand total of 1 goal. He sounds like a typical Arsenal left back, defending is sometimes questionable but is a monster going forward. Santos will wear number 11. The second addition confirmed yesterday was Per Mertesacker. Initially I wasn't over inspired by the signing but the more I thought about it the more excited I got. Per stands at 6 foot 6 inchs tall and has 75 caps for Germany including games in the World Cup and European Championships, he is in essence a tall, powerful, experienced central defender and is exactly what we have been crying out for. I have a feeling that the partnership of Vermaelen and Mertesacker is one that will prove to be very successful. Mertesacker is now the clubs new number 4.
Forward options seemed to be the one thing that we didn't lack at the club however Wenger moved early in the summer to secure the services of Gervinho who we are now all used to seeing in an Arsenal shirt. Wenger then signed Costa Rica striker Joel Campbell. Definately one for the future Campbell has a lot of people excited but unfortunately was unable to secure a work permit so has been loaned out for the season to Lorient in France. Probably because of this Wengers attentions turned to South Korea's captain Park Chu Young who at the time was having a medical with Lille. Park agreed personal terms with the French outfit and completed the first part of his medical but when he didn't show for the second part on Saturday morning it turned out he had travelled to London and was in fact completing a medical and agreeing terms with us. If the scenario was reversed I'd be annoyed but as it is, I actually enjoy seeing a little bit of ruthlessness on our part in the transfer market. Park will effectively replace Bendtner who eventually finalised a season long loan to Sunderland and will wear the number 9 shirt. He looks a tidy finisher with a fantastic work rate and a useful set piece taker that will give Wenger another option in attack.
Following the departure of Cesc and his most obvious replacement Nasri in the window left a massive gap in the centre of our midfield. This was the one position that really worried me. With our complete lack of creativity in the middle of the park in our opening games of the season that gap had to be filled and sweet Jesus, did we ever leave it late! Stories came and went about who we'd bring in but the two stories that stuck were those of Yossi Benayoun and Mikel Arteta. At one point the Arteta deal looked dead in the water and the thought of Benayoun being our only CM addition scared me a little. As it turned out we secured the signatures of both players. Arteta is a magnificent signing for Arsenal. He has both the skill and experience to make our side much, much better. Arteta seemed to be going a little stale at Everton and as the club was going nowhere a move to a club with Champions League football was too good an opportunity to turn down. Although Everton obviously didn't want to lose him David Moyes has said:
"Mikel informed me he wanted to join arsenal.I'm disappointed to lose him but Champions League football is not something I can offer him"I've always liked Arteta and I'm sure I'm not the only Gooner that is delighted to see him join our mighty club.
Benayoun is another player that has a wealth of experience. Racking up 163 Premier League appearances for West Ham, Liverpool and Chelsea Yossi will provide much needed experience to an overall young and inexperienced squad. It's hard to see Benayoun being a regular starter for us if everyone is fit but he is the type of player that can make a difference from the bench and is welcome depth to a squad that was very thin. The joy of twitter came into play on this one as Yossi announced the deal himself before any press could beat him to it he tweeted:
"I sign with arsenal,very happy and excited about it,but now my head is only in the game against grecce on friday,thanks for the support."Interestingly it was reported that Benayoun was very close to signing for Liverpool but Wenger called him personally and persuaded to come to Ashburton Grove instead. Wenger was also the one that worked his magic with Park. I expect players appreciate that personal touch from the club's manager and is just one aspect of why players seem to love playing for Wenger.
So, transfers are all done now and we can concentrate on winning football matches. Here a summary of our dealings and how I see the players leaving have been replaced:
Cesc > Arteta
Nasri > Gervinho
Clichy > Santos
Eboue > Jenkinson
Bendtner (loan) > Campbell > Park Chu Young
Denilson > Benayoun
Vela (loan) > Oxlade-Chamberlain
OTHERS OUT:
Sunu
Lansbury (loan > release)
Traore
Bothelo (loan)
Bartley (loan)
JET
Shea (loan)
Randall
Cruise
Lehmann
OTHERS IN:
Mertesacker
Ryo (technically signed last year but only just made available)
Olsson
Torrel
Gnarby
I want to put Almunia on one of those lists but I think Arsenal have simply lost him. My guess is they took him on a training camp or away game but forgot to bring him back. If you do find him anywhere, please return him to a good home, just as long as it's nowhere near north London, we don't want him finding his way back.
It's been so busy that I must have missed some ins and out somewhere in the ether but as far as the first team is concerned we have 9 new faces to enjoy at Ashburton Grove this season. We asked for Premier League experience and in Arteta and Benayoun we got it, we asked for leaders and in Mertesacker, Park and Benayoun we have 3 international captains, we asked for a big money signing and we didn't need it, we got half a squad for the price of a single Torres and we spent no more than £10m on any single player, Arsene Wenger once again proving you don't have to spend £30m on a player to add quality.
I personally think this has turned out to be a successful window for Arsenal as far as brining players in is concerned and I'm now looking forward to seeing our new boys gel and bringing success back to the mighty Arsenal. I was trying to think of ways to sum up the transfer window but nothing I can think of sums it up better than an analogy by @yankeegunner on twitter, he tweeted:
"August was like the opposite of sex for Arsenal fans. Started with disappointment, seemed to last forever, ended with everyone satisfied"I can't put it better myself so I won't try.
While your on the internet, why not jump over to twitter, you can follow me at here @goonerfishblog for more Arsenal ramblings through the day.
Till next time,
Goonerfish.
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