It should have probably happened much earlier, but the early defeats in the EPL has pushed the Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger into some late action as he bought Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta on the last day before the close of the transfer window. This was, incidentally, on the same day as he had signed up with Fenerbahce defender Andre Santos, Werder Bremen centre-back Per Mertesacker and Chelsea midfielder Yossi Benayoun.
Wenger has been struggling to get his team together after two of his big-ticket players, Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri departed from the club before and after the start of the season. Wenger decided to try continuing without bringing in too many players during the transfer period, probably partly because of the uncertainty around Nasri’s departure but the results in the first three games seemed to have changed his line of thinking.
After a low-key draw, Arsenal went down to Liverpool 0-2 before being crushed by the Manchester United side, 2-8 in their third match that meant that Wenger needed an overhaul.
Arteta had been spoken about as one of the big-name players that Arsenal could do with and the 29-year-old Spaniard was signed for a four year long contract. His signing is said to have cost the side 10 million pounds ($16.2 million), which should allow Arsenal a good replacement in the mid-field.
Earlier, the buzz was that Arteta may not be moving to Arsenal after the Everton club rejected the offer made by the Gunners. However, once Arteta spoke with the club boss David Moyes that he wanted to go, there was no looking back for him.
The other mid-fielder to join the squad is Israel international Benayoun, who was allowed to leave Chelsea for the rest of the season. Santos and Mertesacker will prop up the defence which lay in shambles in the game against Manchester United last weekend. Santos was signed up for a supposed price-tag of 6.2 million pounds ($10 million) and Mertesacker for a fee of 8 million pounds ($12.9 million).
Speaking to the club’s website, Wenger described Santos as a quality player, and said that he could defend and act as a playmaker. He added, “He has experience in the Champions League and for Brazil and has proven he can deliver at the highest level.”
Santos joins the likes of Denilson, Sylvinho, Edu and Gilberto Silva as the Brazilians to play for Arsenal this season.
Speaking of Mertesacker, Wenger said that he should be able to add some spine to the defence that has struggled in the competition so far. Wenger said, “I believe he will be well-suited to the Premier League and a tremendous asset to the team.”
There is a week’s break before the sides start off with the fourth round of the EPL matches.