Chelsea and Manchester City got their transfers sorted out well before deadline day while Manchester United continued to splash the cash but were also able to offload players to offset their expenditure. In terms of gross expenditure, it is their biggest transfer window spend ever.
As always, Arsenal were cautious. At Sunday’s draw against Leicester, Arsenal fans had chanted ‘Buy an [expletive deleted] striker.’ Well, Arsene Wenger managed to secure Danny Welbeck’s services against competition from Tottenham Hotspur.
Chelsea and Manchester City got their transfers sorted out well before deadline day while Manchester United continued to splash the cash but were also able to offload players to offset their expenditure. In terms of gross expenditure, it is their biggest transfer window spend ever.
As always, Arsenal were cautious. At Sunday’s draw against Leicester, Arsenal fans had chanted ‘Buy an [expletive deleted] striker.’ Well, Arsene Wenger managed to secure Danny Welbeck’s services against competition from Tottenham Hotspur.
Many Arsenal fans seem to be underwhelmed, although one texter on Radio 5 was very positive. Welbeck has never been a prolific goal scorer and some were hoping for a big name from abroad. Wenger, however, clearly thinks there is potential for further development. He will do a job for Arsenal, but whether it is the job they want remains to be seen.
However, one always feels with Arsenal that, even allowing for the fact that it is possible to waste money on inflated last minute deals, they are never quite ambitious enough, given their stated ambition to win the Premier League title. Are they always going to be ‘nearly men’ with a good Champions League coefficient? Or is winning the FA Cup merely a start? It all makes for an interesting year in the Premier League.
The transfer window as a whole will be analysed once more reliable figures become available, but it looks as if it has been a record spending one, as was last winter’s window. The headline figure of gross spending is around £835m. Once again managers have opted for foreign players in the belief that they offer better value.