Transfer Season Final Conclusion and Analysis + Arteta and Bendtner deals CONFIRMED

To those of you doubting Santos' credentials, I've seen him play a fair bit because my other team is galatasaray and fener are the reigning Turkish league champs. He's a solid defender and I remember he completely shut down Milan baros each of the last four times galatasaray played fener. Pino as well and also lorik Cana. I like him as a signing because he's a competent defender and isn't afraid to get forward and swing in good crosses. Plus he's scored something like fifteen goals for fener in the last two seasons. Not bad for a defender. He is also a stalwart in Mano menenzes' squad so that's a positive.

I doubt we get anything in January other than maybe M'Vila. I think we wait for the huge creative purchase for when Benayoun goes back to Chelsea, and we splash the cash on a young 24 or younger badass mother fucking center mid in the summer. But I think we'll finish 4th, maybe 3rd, and have a typical, relatively successful Arsenal year. I really like our backline. Alot. 

I think a big problem is convincing world class players to join when you're clearly not a contender for domestic league and your Champions League participation (and future) is in doubt. 

Since Arsenal only just qualified for the CL, it probably made it that much harder with a short time to negotiate.  It was probably also a factor why Chelsea, Man City, and Man United were able to lock in deals much earlier - nobody doubts their CL credentials.

The signings were necessary but not enough.  They give us enough depth to remain competitive in both the CL and the Premiership, but I still don’t see this squad winning trophies.  We do have a shot at landing within the top 4 to qualify for CL next year.  If we do, we’ll need to spend heavily in next year’s transfer period or out go the remaining top players due to trophy drought.  If we don’t make CL next year, it’ll be a very bad few years for Arsenal fans. 

I'm looking forward to the development of Wilshere.  If there's anyone who can replace Cesc within Arsenal, it's Wilshere.  Ramsey has not impressed, however...

Am I being paranoid to worry that they brought in two CAM because they're more afraid of Wilshire's injury than they're letting on?  That's probably a topic for another day, but I really hope he comes back soon - unless I'm overrating and misremembering him due to his absence, I still think he's our best midfielder.

The best part of the results of yesterday?

At every single position there is competition for places. If you are not playing well, there is an able player who will be ready and willing to take the place from the starter./Szczensy v Flaps
Kos v Mert v Djourou
Gibbs v Santos
Ramsey v Wilshere v Arteta
Chamakh v Park
Gervinho v Arshavin v Walcott

The names are not necessarily world class, but they are all fine players that can do a job.

nobody has been more critical of arsene wenger than i have been over the past few months. i was one of the few fans that went and thank all the MAN U fan i know for the mauling that we got because i believe it was going to be the saving grace for our season. had we not been killed in that game i believe we would not have bought any player. but here are my observations of the signings.
1. Mikel Arteta is a sure starter. he is a proven performer for a mid-table team in Everton and player that while isn't  the same caliber as Cesc Fabregas has a very similar playing style and right now is better than Ramsey, Song, Wilshire, and all the other midfielder we currently have. He is also a real leader in midfield something we lacked when Cesc was there.I expect him to play behind Van Persie. Grade A

2. Per Metsacker is also a sure starter. He is one of the top 10 defenders in the world and will like Vermalen add leadership to the back line.For person thinking that Kos can beat him out for a starting place, that is not a posibility. He reads the game extremely well, powerful in the air (an arsenal weakness since Martin Kweon) and clean in a tackle. He also allows Wenger a little flexibility to allow Vermallen to play left back if need. Grade A+

3. Park the benchwarmer. Until Van Persie get injured we only have one forward. i have seen clip of his monaco days while he can finish i honestly think walcott is next in line behind Van Persie as a forward. One thing is for sure about all Asain players they will give u everything on the pitch but he is not arsenal quality. Grade D

4. Santos. Really dont know much about him but from the clipping on youtube he is more of a left winger/ forward than a left back. He will however be given a starting spot based on the fact that we dont have any other choices he is better than Gibbs who is also a winger converted to a left back. Will have to see what he brings to the table defensively. Grade C+

5. Benayoun is the wildcard. He can be a big win or a big loss depending on which one shows up. if he is liverpool player 2-3 years ago he is an A+ signing if not and he is the injury plagued Chelsea player he is definately a D.

Overall we suffered from taking too long to sign a quality player. we could have signed mata or sahim or hazard  had we moved earlier in the window but given the circumstances wenger tried . No hope to win the Premier League.Can be a top 4. Can win the FA Cup or the Carling Cup. Round of the 16 possible quarter final depending on the draw in Champions League.

I wouldn't be so quick to assess players based only on their Youtube clips. I'm not saying you're wrong -- I don't know anything about Park or Santos, and know very little about Mertesaker, too -- but I just don't think you can say someone is or isn't Arsenal quality based on some grainy clips set to crap music.

Yes, but if you can't assess players based on grainy clips on YouTube, how can a donkey like me have an opinion to write about? 

Wrong on Park.

Homey, you should admit you were wrong. And the rest of us were right when we said "Wenger has a trick up his sleeve." Ha!

You really think that's going to happen? Ha!  I scoff at that notion.  I'll be writing a lengthy blog tonight, but don't have the time at the moment to comment much. 

Well, I like it.  What's there not to like really? 
Benayoun on loan is very low risk and very high potential reward. 
Per is a proven international and will add some much needed experience and depth to our back line.  (For those that worry about him not being fast enough, is that really the problem with our back line?  For me it's not, the problem is the lack of ability to hold a solid line and not allow guys onsides, his experience should help) 
Santos fills a much needed void at LB and should serve as a solid mentor for a young player like Gibbs.  From what I have heard he can actually play a decent cross into the box, unlike good ol Clichy.
Park is kind of a wild card.  He could develop into a good counterpart for RvP if Wenger ever decides to play with two strikers again.  The guy has a good amount of experience and should be motivated to live up to the hype that was around him a few years ago.  Adds depth at striker which was needed.
Arteta may be my favorite of the bunch.  A hard worker in the midfield with an eye for goal.  A vast amount of EPL experience.  He should benefit from playing with some more solid talent than he ever had around him at Everton.  The guy is no nonsense and should add the creativity that we have been lacking.
Adding these experienced players along with the youth that we already signed is gonna put us in a position to be back on the rise.  Who cares if it was slightly knee-jerk, it was needed.  Plus, we should still have some $$$ flexibilty to be active in January if the need arises.  Well done guys, can't wait to see the revamped squad in action. 

I think we can also applaud the loan of Bendtner to Sunderland.  It is possible that he is half as good as he thinks he is, in which case we avoided selling our next Bergkamp.  Welbeck certainly came back from the Stadium of Light and playing with Gyan looking ready to be a top performer. I think it is a great opportunity for Bendtner to prove he is better than any of our other non-RVP attacking options or to prove he belongs somewhere other than Arsenal.

Well, he's just come out and said he'll never play for Arsenal again. He's kind of an idiot prone to saying dumb stuff in the press, so I still wouldn't rule it out. But it is sounding like he won't be back in an Arsenal shirt after his loan, which makes me sad. 

The point is this loan is for him to prove he is worth his price tag. If he does well, he will be sold. If he doesn't, we're stuck with him.

I think one key consideration that has not been mentioned so far is the power of competition. How often have we bemoaned how our players can just walk into the first XI and as such do not fully strive to reach their potential. Think of how much harder Koscielny, Gibbs, Ramsey et al. will work because they know there is someone in the squad who can (realistically) take their place.

I mean the players we have bought are older and nearer the end of their careers this move to Arsenal represents a significant opportunity to prove themselves and I am sure they will be pushing hard to achieve that goal. I think the advantage of this competition could have a significant effect on the undoubted potential of some of our players. Arteta took a pay-cut to join Arsenal which shows how motivated he is, whatever doubts they may be on his star quality his hunger, or claw as gigi mentioned, will be a far greater asset.

Desire and hunger are attributes our team desperately needs I think even more than 'wow' factor (we collapsed even with Nasri and Cesc in tow last season and the one before that) but by buying players who do not have the luxury to think "I have plenty of time to achieve" and who want success now it can push on the whole club. Competition is what keeps Vidic on his toes, kaka on the bench and Adebayor on loan hopefully it can make us a much better team

I do agree that significant errors were made in this transfer window and I hate it had to come so late but things are far from over this season. Hopefully we will jump start at Swansea and we can still have the Jan window to shore up further. I am a positive gooner today:)

I mean ffs, you have people on here saying they are pleased with the
signing of BENAYOUN! When Chelski are lending Arsenal a player, use your
brain, and ask yourselves what that must say about the player's
quality? Why do you think Silvestre was sold to us then?

I will repeat what I said: people are excited because Wenger has spent
so long doing fuck all, that his first half-arsed attempt at acting like
a competent manager is being greeted like a golden Jubilee. Arsenal
fans should not be praising Wenger for making £25 mil profit in the
window imo - which he did.

They should be asking why Arsenal's depth of striking options is worse
than WBA, Bolton and cash-strapped Everton. They should be asking why
the defensive midfield position is atrociously short, and low on quality
and numbers. (Frimpong is not the answer, wake up he is a kid).

I am not going 'to wait and see'. No fucking chance. I have been hearing
'wait and see' for the past seven years and I've had enough of waiting.
In those seven years of 'waiting', Wenger has collected over £38
million in personal wages. It's complete bollocks. People are entitled
to feel joy, their choice.

It just seems as if Wenger has been feeding some of you shit for so
long, that the first crumbs of Ryvita you're given and you think you're
munching beluga caviar....

I am also hearing people saying they would be happy with 4th?? Right. So
in our 125th year anniversary, after 7 years of mediocrity, many
Arsenal fans would be happy going forward by...errr...finishing exactly
where we finished so miserably last season!!! Aaaaaand the cycle will
continue ad nauseum unti 2014.

Unbelievable.

Its hard to be rational when you are a little bitch.

It's good to see that I haven't lost all the riders aboard the Homey train.

Hahaha, hey my ticket is still valid, until the end of the season, I just decided to stay in the station for a while hahaha

Interesting note, now Arsenal have more than 12 attacking
players: Rosicky, Ramsey, Wilshere,­ Arshavin, Walcott, RVP, Chamberlain,
Gervinho, Chamakh,­ Miyaichi, Park, Arteta, Benayoun. And only 2 real deffensive
midfielders in Song and Frimpong (Diaby is injured to often to be included).
Not much of balance.

You know you're comparing 5 positions, ST, LW, RW, CAM, CM... to one position CDM. Is that shocking that those five positions have more players than one position? On average, the "attacking" positions have 2.4 players per position, while CDM has 2. Not that shocking, really. You're argument is flawed as hell. That's like saying we need more strikers because we only have 3, while we have 10 plus defenders and keepers.

Not to mention our team is built for the attack and counter, thats what we're really good at. Secondly, our backline is strong enough now to cope with any lapses in the mid for the most part. He definitely is severely flawed in his thinking.

Dear TJ and Perry,

Actually last few seasons showed that Arsenal are not tough enough then needed
and while all team being generally susceptible to injuries DMC position is also
dangerously balancing with suspensions. Therefore, 2 players are unforgivingly low,
especially then for one of them it’s first season in EPL.

Can't say it was a really great transfer window, but considering it's Arsenal, and it was all pulled off in the last few days before the deadline, I'm really pleased! Benayoun is real quality, I hope he hasn't lost any of that flair he had at 'pool.

Will the Gunners continue a 4-3-3? New formations with new players?

should buy cahill on december on discounted price. 

We have 4, 5 or 6 CBs, depending on if you count Squillaci and Miquel. So don't expect another. 

I hope the last signings are not the end of the process of rebuilding and Arsenal should only keep "super quality player. 

And in Vermaelen and Mertesacker we have two super quality CBs. The verdict is still out on Koscielny, but his potential should be obvious. And while Djourou has seemingly regressed, he does have the tools to be a top CB. Miquel, it's probably too early to tell, but he looks good. 

Miquel will definitely be world class someday. He isn't ready yet, but he is only 18. However, he spent last season captaining the reserves and the summer winning a trophy with his youth national team. Given time, he probably will be better than Djourou and likely Koscielny as well, so I think another center back is not a necessary purchase. Once he grows up, we will have at least three super quality CBs.

I like your optimism, but I worry that he's going to have to get a lot quicker & faster to make it at the top level. Every time I've watched him (admittedly, not that often), attackers do tend to get behind him, and it doesn't seem like he's fast enough to catch up to them at that point. Hope I'm wrong, though -- seems like a nice kid with a great attitude.

I think the coaching staff is much higher on Bartley, and that he's probably more likely to establish himself in the first-team someday.

I'm still a little concerned about where the goals are going to come from if not RVP.  Should be an interesting experiment.

At least they tried something finally.

Park & Gervinho will show up, just wait and see.

If only we had offloaded Squilaci and Almunia, it would have been a perfect deadline day for us. I think till the time Gibbs is injured Santos will start. Good thing is that we have the international break which gives sufficient time for our injured players to get back; any update on Wilshere injury?
If only we had brought these players earlier...there Perry I gave you the line to hound me. Continuing my love for realism (which borders on pessimism) I still dont see us finishing 4th. Arteta is no Cesc or Nasri, so the question still remains that who will create goal scoring opportunities for us?
But our back line does look well stacked up now and I give full credit to Wenger and Arsenal management for doing it.
Come on Arsenal Beat The Hell Outta Swansea.

Don't see any of the new signings (aside from Santos maybe) in the first team lineup, once everyone is fit:

Gervinho Van Persie Walcott
Ramsey (Or Arteta) Wilshire
Song
Santos Kos (or Mertesaker) Vermaelen Sagna
Wojo

I find this statement difficult to agree with.

Mertesacker is a well-known defender in the footballing world, 75 caps for Germany and captained Weder Bremen. Koscielny is a mere up and comer with much to learn. It's hard to see Mert sitting on the bench in all honesty.
Santos is an experienced player, and Gibbs is a promising player, but unproven. It really is difficult to see which will start, but they should be able to push each other which is a good thing. If Gibbs could ever stay healthy that is.
I honestly don't see how Arteta is not a sure starter with our squad. Arteta is a very good player who knows the PL extremely well. Ramsey has promise, but shouldn't be starting imo.

I would point out that there is less than a year of age different between Mertesacker and Koscielny. To paint one as the grizzled veteran and the other as the fresh-faced rookie isn't exactly right. It's certainly true that Mertesacker has accomplished much more in his career than Kos, who was a very late bloomer.

I just think that Kos is precisely the kind of CB Wenger loves, whereas I think Mertesacker may create something of a headache for Arsenal/Wenger because his passing and pace may (and again, I'm just basing this off of stuff I've read about him) not be what Arsene likes in a CB.

Agreed on Santos/Gibbs & Arteta, though.

Ugh, just lost a comment. It was something about Mertesacker not needing to be Beckenbauer, just comfortable with the ball at his feet. Which he is. 

Doesn't matter if they start or not, the cover they provide is essential. While these guys you mention above are injured, these new boys will provide enough to keep us charging forward.

Doesn't mean they can't make a large impact.  Had they been with the team prior, Arteta, Santos, Benayoun, and Mertesaker ALL would have played in Manchester ahead of Traore, Coquelin, Lansbury, and Djourou.  It's folly to always compare these guys to "the first team", when 90% of the time, you never have your true "first team" available.

"once everyone is fit"...  that's a laugh.  When I hear someone say that, makes me feel they haven't followed the Arsenal very long...  Players are lost for long stretches all the time (when's Jack's ETA back?). 

By your logic, Mertesaker would have been a bad signing last year too because that was Vermaelen's first team spot.  No way Arteta would have been useful because Cesc played every single minute of every single match for our first team, right?

Not saying they are bad signings (when did I even mention the word 'bad' or 'no impact'?.. lol wtf). We need depth more than everything else.

Last season Mertesaker would have been a brilliant signing, whilst Arteta not so much, considering we had Nasri and Cesc.

And true, I don't know how our players get injured so much.

So what then was the point of your
original post about them not fitting into some  'healthy first
team'?  Your first post seemed to suggest at least something was
lacking with the new signings and focused ONLY on a preferred first team.  Made the appearance
that you were looking for more new first teamers, implied we didn't
strengthen our first XI, and made zero mention of depth or the
bench.  Hard to reconcile that post with "we need depth
more than everything else", which focuses on everything BUT the
preferred first team.lol wtf indeedIf you look at
2011 EPL + Udinese, which is only FIVE matches old, only Wojo and
Ramsey from your listed first team have started every match (and
Ramsey was even a question mark for you).  Shows the madness in
talking about a “once they get fit” (or not suspended) first team. 

not sure why the formatting in my post is all screwed up--sorry for that!

Mertesaker is miles ahead of Koscielny.

They have their strenhs and weakneses, I wont go that far saying Kos is so far behind.

I think my favorite transfer news of the day has to be finally seeing the back of Armand Traore. GOOD F'IN RIDDANCE.  In 09-10, it was confirmed, after some time of suspicion, that he was just awful.  In 10-11, he was gone...surely.  Against Man U, he was back, as if from the dead.  Given the performance, perhaps he was probably dying of a hidden gunshot wound under the shirt, or maybe he had a broken foot.

In all seriousness, I have to say that the signing of Yossi Benayoun is eminently sexy.  He was my favorite Liverpool player two years ago, and was so disappointed by his injury last season (as much as I could be about a long-term injury to a dangerous Chelsea player).  A loan move, while a bit damaging--to be very critical--to the club's prestige, has to go down as a huge coup.  He's 31, but I think that in the best of worlds, he can be such a massive threat to defenses.

What Gunnerlurker said is totally true. Wenger and the whole Arsenal's boardroom should have settled out all the matter regarding Nasri very quickly and not wait in the end of August and the same with Fabregas. Purchasing players earlier during the transfer window would have allowed Wenger to try out some of the players he just bought during pre-season and the first games of EPL.

 More importantly, it would have allowed Arsenal to bid ''super signings'' as someone mentioned more efficiently. Like in the Eden Hazard, the Mario Gotze or the Juan Manuel Mata cases, Arsenal could have come out with better bids for one or both of them... Nah, they waited until the last minute like a student who would wait unto the last minute to do his homework (:D).

Like Gunner Lurker said, it seems like we're starting our season 3 weeks after everyone else, but like JG pointed out, its good to see us officially start. We haven't had this good a depth for a little while. If we had this man power last season, a trophy would had been guaranteed, but we can't cry over spilt milk. I'm excited to see how everyone performs. 
    People are already complaining about Merte being slow, I'm sure he's a top defender for a reason and finds ways to compensate to be effective in his position. Plus he was considered the cleansest defender in Germany, this suggests that most times he's in the right place so he doesn't have to make desperate tackles too often. 
    Andre Santos? I dont know much about his defending, but I have seen clips of him going forward, and I must admit he is awesome. His skill on the ball and beating playerss are exceptional for a defender, which will give us some extra help on the counter. However, i'm interested to see him perform the task for which he was hired. In addition, he must be decent if he has 22 caps for the Brazilian squad. 
   I dont know much about Park. I'm excited to see what he brings to the table. 
   Arteta, well, a plethora of experience, excellent free kick taker, good passer, and like Gigi said, a fighting spirit, Lord knows we need that at Arsenal. 
   Yossi Benayoun is the most skillful Israeli to play in England. He has a great touch and demonstrate good control. He thru passes and vision are pretty damn good, and his experience will prove invaluable for the youngsters in the squad. Decent job Wenger. I give him a B- too JG. 
He lost a letter grade  for being complacent, unrealistic, stubborn, and I think we coulda done a little better, but kudos anyway.

Overall, I'm pretty pleased.

Wenger said he was going to bring in established players in positions of need. He did exactly that.

Unfortunately, it was always going to be very difficult to replace Cesc. Arteta is a solid player, but there are only a handful of players in the world that could give us what Cesc did. He isn't one of them. And I think I'd rather have Nasri than Gervinho, although Gervinho has looked very good so far. As far as Clichy goes, I think Gibbs is better than him, anyway, not sure about Santos because I don't know if I've ever seen him play.

So, Mertesacker aside, I don't know if we can really say that our big transfer purchases improve us at positions from last year. We'll just have to rely on Vermaelen being healthy again and strengthening the backline, and the improvement of young players like Szczesny, Gibbs, Koscielny, Walcott, Song, etc. to make us better. I think some of those players will step up.

And perhaps most importantly, Wenger has enough money left to allow some flexibility. We can still go back for Hazard or Gotze in the future. And we can also use that money to make generous long-term offers to guys like van Persie, Walcott, Vermaelen, and Sagna, because those guys need to be the core of the team for years to come.

I think today the predominant feeling is one of relief. We got some players. Some good players, who will help us a lot. But they're hardly superstars, and as I said, comparing this year's team with last year's isn't all that flattering, I don't think. And I know some disagree on Santos & Mertesacker, but if everyone is healthy, I think Arteta is still probably the only new guy in our starting XI for me. But as we know too well, everyone is never healthy, and the new guys will get big, big minutes.

I think the main complaint is probably still that we waited so long. It's great that we made these moves, but we had to sweat out even making the Champions League against Udinese, and we're already 8 points behind Manchester United and 6 points behind Liverpool. The new guys will also undoubtedly take some time to settle in and get accustomed, even though we'll probably need them right away. 

In short, then, I think the transfer window activities, when viewed as a whole, act as a kind of Rorshach test for how you feel about Wenger or the board. Wenger-bashers will point to the fact that we waited so late, failed to improve upon last year's club, and still have bunches of money in the bank as evidence that Wenger needs to go. Wenger-lovers will point to the fact that he kept his word, found some great bargains, and strengthened the team.

I suspect the truth is somewhere in the middle. I think we did pretty well under very difficult circumstances, but I'm still not sure how favorably we match up with Liverpool, let alone Chelsea or the Manchester teams. And I'm still not sure we have much of a realistic shot at winning trophies this year. 

per and arteta are sure starters.santos looks like a forward from the clips i see and park is a scrappy player.

Think of the Invincibles. When Wenger brought in Pires, Ljungberg, Kanu, Wiltord, they were all in the same boat... players who had proven themselves in "lesser" leagues, and for their nations, but were now asked to step up to the big time. Not that Germany is "lesser", and Arteta has EPL experience, but they are/were not stars by any stretch... it was playing within AW's system that turned them into Highbury heroes. I just hope he sees in the new guys what he saw in the others.

yea martin, I think per and andre will in fact be starters for us 

Who was it who said that Martin stopped blogging for the Arsenal Offside?

I really see Mertesacker in our XI.  I can't see how Koscielny or Djourou play ahead of him, unless Wenger feels he would "stifle" their development, but then why buy him?  Mertesacker is definitely more experienced than the two, and I would argue more complete.  He's been a member and starter of a superb German defense in recent history, which shows he's been able to stay ahead of his competition with his fellow countrymen for one of those two CB spots.  He's a big guy who can move, and is much taller than our other CBs so he would definitely help against larger EPL competition and defending set pieces.  Tactically, I would only start Koscielny ahead of him if we were playing a speedy smallish continental team and are seeking to control the midfield possession and push high up.  I know we play a high line but I think Mertesacker will handle that just fine and is a much needed physical body against our EPL rivals.

You are in the majority, I'm in the minority. I would just say that (a) we spent more money on Kos than we did on Per; and (b) Kos plays very, very well alongside Vermaelen. Again, this is probably a moot point, since it will probably be rare that all 3 are healthy anyway. And even if they are all healthy, it would be a good idea to rotate them. So whether Per is first-choice or not, he'll play plenty. I just think that if it's a critically important match and Koscielny is healthy, he will start. I think Wenger likes him a lot. And I'm also in the minority in that I feel the same way about Kieran Gibbs/Santos. Also a moot point since Gibbs is hurt 80% of the time.

martin, i respectfully disagree.  per and vermaelen will start if both are healthy.  if djourou maintains form it will be djourou and per with vermaelen playing lb.  i think koscielny will really have to rise to the occasion to beat per for the starting place.  

Really? You think Djourou is ahead of Kos on the depth chart? After Sunday?

Yeah, no way is Djourou ahead of Kos on any kind of chart.  Djourou's fine form last season is definitely starting to look like a fluke while Kos seems to be getting better and more confident the more games he plays in.  Both Per and Kos will get plenty of playing time, lets not forget that this squad is going to be competing in four competitions this year and I can see AW fielding fairly strong sides in both the FA and Carling Cups. 

Trophies aside, with the two players we lost, what we did to shore up the back, add depth in the center, and put us in a position to do reasonably well still (top 4, qualify for UCL, etc.), I think Wenger did a fine job. Not many teams with a restricted spending account could do what he did after losing two of the best players on their squad.  BIG UPS TO WENGER.

I am generally happy with the job he did. But I'm less sanguine than you are about our chances of finishing 4th or better. It's certainly still possible, but we're already 6 points behind Liverpool, and they've already beaten us at home. And I think they look very good. Don't really see us catching Chelsea or the Manc teams. Would love to be wrong about this. These transfer moves certainly improved our chances.

I guess there would be some debate over the "restricted spending account." No one doubts that there is a limit, but I think some would say there is evidence that the limit was about 60 million, of which he only spent half. The truth is that none of us really know how much he had at his disposal.

I am happy with these moves, and there is no doubt they improve the club quite a bit. Again, though, I think that if one were so inclined, there is a reasonable case that Wenger should have brought in more quality players by spending more money, and should have done so earlier in the window. 

We haven't even played the 4th game of the season and you can't see us catching up the the leaders? This is the EPL, the most unpredictable league in the world, you can't just assume that these teams will keep form. I can guarantee you that the table, four weeks from now, will be completely different; let alone what it will look like in January or in May.

Yeah, most unpredictable league in the world is quite a stretch there. I would say that most leagues in the world are considerably more unpredictable.

And I'm not saying I don't think we have a chance at the league based only, or even mainly, on the games we have played so far. Just take a list of our team and compare it with Chelsea, Manchester United, and Manchester City. I can't see a rational argument that those squads are not significantly better than us, man-for-man. I'd love to be wrong about this, but I don't think I am.

Most unpredictable league in the world? Quick, name the clubs that have won the league since 1995. The German and French leagues are both less predictable. 

Dutch league too, last season was crazy. PSV basically had the title won by March or so and then out of nowhere, Ajax came back and won it on the last day of the season. 

I feel like we've been through 2 transfer windows! The first one was horrible as we lost 2 first team players (although 1 was really expected since b4 the end of last season). We did bring in a few players but apart from Gervinho, like many says, the younger players don't really excite us too much. I was looking fwd to seeing Ryo play in the 1st team but sadly that will probably hve to wait...

Then came the MU disaster and the last week seems more like a completely different window! We were linked with tonnes of players and in the end got what I would think as great players at "Wenger" prices! I would have like to see the likes of Martin, M'Vila or Hazard coming in but considering the timing and prices, I think we did pretty well!

So if I were to grade the process, i will put a E on the first and a A on the second! =)

Now, bring  on Swansea!!!!

Fundamentally, Wenger has achieved his primary goal, these signings will make a significant difference in the season. The squad is no doubt strengthened. There is no way with the squad we now have we would have lost 8-2 to Man U. With that said, these are not the kind of signings that instill confidence. Yes! They are experienced players, but they not the of the "super quality" Wenger spoke of earlier this summer. None the less I am elated Arsene has finally taken his head out of the preverbal (our boys are good enough) sand and acknowledged the real issues here. I would like to believe these signings are a statement of intent. The reality of the football world today is that you have to pay, if you want to win. This is an albeit late, but promising start.

The next two transfer windows I believe are going to define Arsene Wenger as a manager. Many people forget that not too long ago, the things being said about Wenger were said about... you didn't guess it, Sir Alex Ferguson. Google "i'm backing Wenger to restore Gunners' former glories" for more on that. If Wenger spends the remaining 40-50 (depending on who you ask) million left in the coffers on world class talent. It would signal an acknowledgement on his part a coming to terms with the (new) realities of the EPL, as well as confirming that he is indeed the right man for the job. If not, then his arrogance has trumped reason and our beloved club will be on the outside looking in (premier league titles) for the forseable future and Wenger must go. Arsenal is not a club that should be satisfied with anything but championships! I believe he has seen the error in his ways and we are back on the up and up.

My future wish list consists of some combination of:
Hazard/Goetze/Martin (insert future world beating midfielder)
Yann M'Vila
A young talented defender a la Sebastian Coates, or Phil Jones
and
A world class partner for RVP (young or old)

Winning the premier league this season is doubtful. But with some significant investment in the coming windows, we can return to former glories.

Wenger, we are all looking at you...

Gunners for life!

^ We are in complete agreement then.

Arteta and Yossi are decent enough players but their age and injury records are a significant worry! I wouldnt say Arsenal are out of the woods yet by any stretch of the imagination.

"All for less than Andy Carroll" - nice. and hes not that good lol

How does Enrique look a better target? As for Mata, that is an individual...I think the signings we got were the right mix of experience and youth.

Back to Enrique......r u for real????????

Jose Enrique is a premier league proven left back, who would have come at a reduced price because he fell out with his club. Meaning it would have been approximately the same price for someone with Premier League experience.

Maybe it's just because I'm familiar with him (and admittedly not familiar with Santos), but given the choice between the two, I would have taken Enrique.

What is 'premier league' experience?

Is football in England strangely different from football else where?

I'd say an established Brazil NT first teamer > someone who can't even get into England team as second choice.

There are certain aspects of the premier league style that aren't present in other leagues. English game is a lot more physical than other leagues, like the French or Spanish. It can be faster, too, especially over the French league. But for me, it comes down to the fact that Jose Enrique has experience playing against the teams and players we play on a day to day basis. 

Players from the premier league are just a lot more certain performers, whereas a player from somewhere else tends to be a question mark. 

Although I have to agree with you about someone with a solid NT place. One reason I was so happy about Mertesacker.

True.

But Santos has attributes that Enrique does not. Including international football experience. Which you seem to have discounted from your analysis.

To be fair, the Premier League experience does make a bit of a difference when comparing two very similar players. The EPL is known to be a more rugged league where stamina and ability to "fight" for the ball is required. A lot of players who come from abroad find it difficult to integrate into the demands of the league (we have some examples on our squad already), but with that said, a real quality player will find his way and adapt. I have seen Santos play and he has the quality to compete in this league.

Oh and how many of you said we were not going to qualify for Champions League next year or place in the top 4 in the EPL this year? Be honest, leave your pride behind, and admit you jumped to conclusions 3 matches into the season.

I still don't think we're favorites for the top 4.  Though we certainly have a chance.

In the last 3 years, we have not been favored to be in the top 3, so I'm ok not being favored again. We always work it out.

well it may come down to us and liverpool for the top 4. I was at the liverpool game and we were better than them. I think with frimpong and song in the side its a very different team to the one against man u so lets not even take that into account for the real ability of our side. Im just saying we are better than liverpool even though they will always get more hype because they are the great liverpool team that alan hansen bums all day lond on match of the day. So i think we can come in 4th but to overtake chelsea and man city would be tough given their teams. Although perry, the last few years when people doubted us to finish top 3 or 4, we arguably had a better team than we do now and man city and liverpool were weaker, so lets see how it pans out this season. I dont think our team is any worse than chelseas.

seems like you think we've already got top 4...

Yeah, thats pretty much it.

Hello everyone, Perry here, just wanted to see when you Wenger bashers were ready to taste that egg?

Like 1.2 players for every goal conceeded on Sunday haha

Great sum up JG, thx.
I d give a B+ and Perry will bt thrilled that I am willing to give AW another chance, (as Homey will I am sure, actually because we were never calling his head but only disgusted at the lack of what we had today).

I always liked the players we signed today, not a fan but liked, meaning they were known. Which is good, and rare for us.

I particularly see one thing in Arteta that has been missing around, even from top class guys like Cesc, but that pours out of Wojo, we call that in Lat Am "garra" (claw), meaning that if a player sees the team in bad shape, losing, getting booed, he neves stops trying, has a warrior look in his face, keeps on fighting, and eventauyll with more spirit than technique..gets the jod done.

Actually, Homeslice wanted Wenger out and said he wasn't going to back down from that even after the deadline completes. I'd pretty much say he's stubborn and doesn't want to admit defeat, but I'm sure he'll say otherwise.

I'm glad you're back, because I sure was frustrated being one of the few believers left. 

Haha, glad to be back (although I must confess, I am still at the door of the club, in the inside, but not yet seated)

I wasn't able to comment much in the live blog or in the comments' section today.  But for the record, I'm not going to change my opinion on whether I want Wenger out.  I still do.  I'm relieved at the signings today, but still not really satisfied. 
My blog on all that will hopefully come out tomorrow night about this same time, so I'll save most of my thoughts for that blog.  Until then...

Looking forward to the read.

I WAS ALSO ONE OF THE BELIEVERS!!!!
Wenger has succeeded :)

Bit sad we didn't get someone in the Hazard/Gotze/Martin mold (i.e. a super signing), but Arteta is decent heh. Considering he'd be a lot cheaper as well..

keep in mind we got arteta with EPL experience, which in my opinion is better, If he stays fit and healthy, I think he'll be amazing!

We got a lot of quality through this transfer, plugged gaps, and still have January to possibly bring another level of talent in.

Meant 9 players and Bennayoun to that list in previous post...oops

If you're in Canada and like me can't wait for the next actual Arsenal game to see the new boys, Setanta is replaying the Everton-Blackburn game. I can't remember specifically watching Arteta before so I'm getting in a bit of advanced scouting, lol. 

good to see some canajun gooners!

its good to see that AW finally woke up and did something (no kudos from me; this is his job; he should have done this a long time ago).

it looks like we might have a team that might make 4th. I hope so.

It will be some interesting games ahead

Yeah, seems like there are quite a few of us Canadian Gooners that visit this blog. Can't wait for the next game to see the new boys!

Watched him a couple of times..but why watch him when we had fabregas...lol

Just moved to Ottawa from the UK...sucks I can't watch games in the pubs! 

Glad to see followership in Canada.