While I must say that i'm a little disappointed that we didnt get a true "world class" attacking midfielder, I am glad that we were able to nab two experienced midfielders with premiership experience to mentor the younger players, Arteta will be immense as as far as that is concerned, and what I like about him is that he can act as an attacking player or play more defensively if Song or Frimpong go down to injury or suspension, we have DEPTH in all positions now.
For me, the only "world class" player we really signed is Mertesacker, his pedigree speaks for itself. While he may not be able to cope with some of the speedier wingers in the league, his positioning is superb and if we play a deeper back line, we shouldnt have any problems at all. He's also one of the cleanest tacklers i've ever seen.
From what i've seen of Santos, hes alot like Roberto Carlos in that hes kind of small, pacey, likes to get forward and is OK defensively, and hes definitely got a better cross on him than Clichy ever did. I like that hes very calm and composed on the ball, rarely dispossesses. I like this.
Park will be better than Bendtner, i'm 100% sure of that, and I honestly think he may be a step above Chamakh. He has one hell of a shot and can provide assists as well.
Benayoun is my only real question mark. I've seen him at his peak and when hes on, hes on. Excellent passer of the ball, great close control and has a heck of a shot. Unfortunately he's spent a good portion of his career injured, and with our injury problems, thats not something we need more of. If he stays healthy, i'm confident he'll be an excellent super sub when the Wilshere returns to fitness.
Overall, i'd give le Prof a B- for this transfer window. He promised world class additions (key word is ADDITIONS), and we truly only got one and not in an area that I wanted. We needed a Cesc replacement, we didnt get one. Hazard and Gotze should be at the top of the list come January.
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2011 Mustang 5.0 | 3.55's | Lethal Performance off road H-Pipe | Magnaflow Muffler Delete | JLT CAI/Bama tuned 417whp/ 404 ft/lbs
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