Arsenal Transfer News: 4 Players to Save Their Season

Arsenal fans must have been worried about where their season was heading after a 8-2 thrashing against Manchester United. Fortunately, Arsene Wenger did the right thing and opened his cheque-book to acquire the services of four new players.

It remains to be seen if the players mentioned are considered long-term targets or panic buys and if they are enough to save Arsenal's season or if it is a classic case of too little too late. The signings certainly show promise and there at least seemed to be some direct replacements for Samir Nasri, Cesc Fabregas and Gael Clichy.

Have a look through my slideshow for my verdict on each player and leave a comment below if you feel so inclined.

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Mikel Arteta

Mikel Arteta signed for Arsenal with the fee being in the region of £10 million. There was a bit of a merry-go-round as first the transfer was on, then off and then it was finally on and confirmed just before the 11 p.m (BST) deadline.

Arteta has proved to be one of the best midfielder players in the Premier League since joining Everton on a permanent basis in 2005. The player is considered to be cultured and technically very good and his ability sees him create goals and score them himself. The player is also a very good set piece taker.

There is no doubt Arsenal is signing a quality player and a pretty decent replacement for Cesc Fabregas. In many ways, Arteta is very unlucky, because he is very talented but has never played for Spain, mainly due to the talent available in the Spanish midfield.

An interesting aspect of the transfer is it goes against Arsene Wenger's usual principles as a player who is 29 and may well now finish his career at Arsenal. Arsenal has invested a significant transfer fee but they may never get a penny of it back.

Overall though, Arsenal needed players to improve their squad in the present and Arteta certainly does that and he gives Arsenal fans reason to be optimistic about the season again. So for my money this is an excellent piece of business.

Per Mertesacker

Per Mertesacker is a experienced international quality central defender with years of experience playing in the German Bundesliga. Sounds like just what Arsenal needs and at only 26, he has the potential to form a very useful partnership with Thomas Vermaelen for years to come.

Even if this is a last-minute deal, it looks to be a good bit of business. Arsenal have some useful players going forward, so a signing like this could give the team some much needed stability at the back.

Mertesacker is an established top quality defender that should be easy to manage and organize their defense. He could well prove to be a very astute piece of business.  

Yossi Benayoun

Yossi Benayoun has only arrived at Arsenal on loan so Wenger is taking a relatively low risk. The player really made a name for himself at West Ham and followed that up with a successful spell at Liverpool. However, the move to Chelsea hasn't really worked out, so this deal probably suits both parties.

At 31, he would probably have not made a wise investment on a permanent basis, but Arsenal has secured the services of a player that can score and create goals for the rest of the season. It will certainly be interesting to see how the player gets on, but as previously hinted, this is really no risk to Arsenal. So another solid piece of business. 

Andre Santos

Andre Santos is an experienced attacking full-back. Again at 28, there might not be much re-sale value here, but he is a good player for now and an area of the pitch Arsenal needed to strengthen. Really, Santos is a replacement for Gael Clichy and like most Brazillan full-backs will probably offer more going forward than at the back.

The injury to Kieran Gibbs has shown the need to bring a player in this position. Santos is a player that can improve the defense as well as offer an extra dimension to Arsenal's attacking play. Clearly this signing is a bit of a risk because he will need to settle quickly and be ready to play.

However, Wenger had to take a gamble and if the gamble pays off, Santos will turn out to be a very exciting player. Let's put this one down as risky but good.