D-Day Desperation

The targets had no defense to the huge monoliths of the mighty. And as those on the hit list were powerless to resist their advances...

I am of course talking about transfer deadline day. The biannual drama that sees 24 hours of movements and madness, rumours and revelations. As the window slammed shut at 11pm last night, the usual last minute deals were tied up and a couple of transfers totally out of the left field transpired.

Much of yesterday's action was a result of the exit of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri from the Emirates but it wasn't just Arsenal in the thick of it. Everton made two astute loan signings and QPR seemed to be trying to buy anyone and everyone.

For Arsenal, and Arsene Wenger, it was a change of tactics. A required one at that, after losing their captain and another of their shining stars. Not to mention a certain 8-2 scoreline. So, in come Andre Santos (£6.2m), Per Mertesacker (£8m), Yossi Benayoun (loan) and Mikel Arteta (£10m). Wenger usually goes for youth and some of the media have called this spending spree desperation. That it may be, but this mix of Premier League experience and defensive reinforcements could reinvigorate the Gunner's season.

As a Norwich fan, this summer's deadline day was a bit like knowing a party was going on but someone had forgotten to post the invite. Out of the three promoted sides, it was QPR, now under the ownership of Tony Fernandes, to spend big and they now look to have a squad capable of beating the drop.

For the others it was a case of scrambling around to pick up some quality players being left on the fringes of other Premier League clubs. Stoke spending £10m on Peter Crouch is a case in point and the England striker could well benefit from the style of football Tony Pulis' side play.
Whether it's because of Premier League rules restricting squads to 25 players or whether it's another wave of clubs owned by the mega-rich, there's one thing for sure. Deadline drama is here to stay.