The last day of the transfer deadline, as expected threw up some surprise and shocking moves and loads of drama. Arsenal, who were thrashed 8-2 over the weekend, were the most active team on deadline day snapping up two big name players in the form of Mikel Arteta from Everton and Per Mertesacker from Werder Bremen apart from also signing Yossi Benayoun from Chelsea on loan till the end of the season.
EPL: Deadline Day Drama
Everton had earlier rejected a bid from Arsenal for Arteta but the star midfielder’s insistence paid off as the Gunners successfully signed him before the deadline for an undisclosed fee. Arsenal’s Nicklas Bendtner, on the other hand, completed a season long loan move to the Stadium of Light where he will be a part of Steve Bruce’s Sunderland. Sunderland didn’t succeed in luring Peter Crouch, who moved to Stoke City, and Bendtner was a last gasp substitute for the English international.
The most surprising move of the night though was Raul Meireles’ switch from Liverpool to Chelsea just minutes before the transfer deadline. Meireles, considered a surplus to Dalgish’s requirements at Anfield, had written in a transfer request to Liverpool who agreed to Chelsea’s price of 12 million pounds. Joe Cole, another fading star at Anfield, also signed a loan deal with Lille till the end of the season while striker David N’ Gog signed a three year deal with Bolton Wanderers. Joe Cole will be joined by Christian Poulsen in France after the midfielder signed a one year new contract with Ligue 1 newcomers Evian. On the other hand, Dalgish, who was falling short of strikers, signed Craig Bellamy in which will be his second stint at the club. After his infamous fall-out with Mancini, Manchester City were keen to offload the Welshman before his contract expired in one year.
In another surprising move, Manchester City snapped up injury troubled midfielder Owen Hargreaves from their city neighbours in a free transfer. It was Mancini’s sixth signing of the summer, all six of them being international stars as the Manchester in Blue look to bolster their squad which will be participating in the Champions League. For Hargreaves, it was a second lease of life after his career fell out since operations on both knees and has been reduced to a spectator at Old Trafford.
Tottenham just about managed to hold on to their star midfielder Luka Modric after they rejected a 40 million bid from Chelsea and added to their strength by signing Scott Parker from West Ham. Aston Villa meanwhile signed Spurs midfielders David Bentley and Jermaine Jenas on season long loans while they also signed Scotland full back Alan Hutton apart from reaching an agreement with Shamrock Rovers to sign Ireland U-21 defender Enda Stevens in January. Chelsea’s Gael Kakuta will spend the rest of the season at the Reebok Stadium as he signed a loan deal with Bolton Wanderers, who looked to improve their forward strength after the departure of Johan Elmander. Another side with lots of activity on deadline day was QPR. The newly promoted team signed deals that landed them Shaun Wright Phillips and also Anton Ferdinand as they look to stay in the top flight.
The D-day as usual didn’t disappoint the fans and the media and the only thing left to see now is how the players cope up and perform for their new clubs’ expectations.
Tags: Arsenal, Blackburn, Chelsea, Deadline Day, English Premier League, EPL, Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker, Premier League, Raul Meireles, Tottenham, Transfer Window, Yossi Benayoun
