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Arsenal busiest on deadline day

Comment: 0 September 1st, 2011 by: admin

ARSENAL were the busiest major side during transfer deadline day on Wednesday with four signings in a bid to arrest their sluggish start in the Premier League.

Manager Arsene Wenger signed Mikel Arteta from Everton and Yossi Benayoun from Chelsea to reinforce their midfield which was badly depleted due to the recent exits of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri.

To add strength to their defence, the Gunners also got Brazil left-back Andre Santos from Fenerbahce and Germany centre-back Per Mertesacker from Werder Bremen.

Arsenal’s frenetic move to find new additions was sparked by their recent 2-8 drubbing from Manchester United. They only posted one point after three league fixtures.

With powerhouse squads Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United already content of their current roster, there were no other blockbuster deals around Europe on deadline day as the summer spending in the Premier League reached 400 million pounds (US$650 million).

Most of the 11th-hour deals were made in England.

Chelsea signed Raul Meireles on a four-year deal from Liverpool, while Manchester City closed their active summer campaign in the market by signing Owen Hargreaves to a one-year contract.

Tottenham Hotspur, also aiming to regroup this early, landed Scott Parker from relegated West Ham. Manager Harry Redknapp had earlier signed Emmanuel Adebayor on loan from Manchester City to strengthen their strike force.

Aston Villa, meanwhile, signed midfielder Jermain Jenas (loan) and defender Allan Hutton (permanent) from the Spurs.

City sent Shaun Wright-Philips to Queens Park Rangers on a three-year deal and Wales forward Craig Bellamy, who was back at Liverpool on a two-year loan deal.

In the most high-profile deal in France on deadline day, Liverpool sent winger Joe Cole to Lille. Cole said he hopes the move would give him a fresh start following an anemic first season at Anfield after coming in from Chelsea.

In Italy, Juventus got Netherlands winger Eljero Elia from Hamburg , while in Germany, Wolfsburg signed Alexander Hleb from Barcelona and sent unwanted midfielder Diego to Atletico Madrid.

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