It was down to the wire last night (Wednesday) as the transfer window as about to close and then Arsenal announced that we have signed Mikel Arteta from Everton for thought to be £10million. This had to be the biggest signing on transfer deadline day and the biggest signing for Arsenal this summer.
We lost Fabregas and Nasri this summer but we have now bought in a player of the quality of Arteta. If Arteta was not in the generation of Xavi, Iniesta and Alonso, he would easily be a regular in the Spanigh national team. The beauty with signing Arteta is that we are getting a player with Premier league experience already so we do not have to wait for him to ‘get used to the English game’.
At 29-years-old he is also experienced and will certainly help the younger players around him at Arsenal. He is a top-class playmaker who can play well with both feet and is also a dead ball specialist. and with him linking up with Wilshere in the middle of the park, it is going to be something special.
Wilshere himself is please with the arrival of Arteta as he tweeted:
“Best news of the day! Brilliant signing! Welcome to Arteta! Great day all round for #AFC this is why #ILoveAFC. Come on you gooners!!!!”
Now Arteta may not be better than Fabregas but he is certainly a worthwhile replacement who will be able to get the job done for us. My only concern with Arteta is his injury record. He seems to get injured a lot but hopefully he can put all of that behind him and do a good job for Arsenal.