When title rivals Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City all made moves before the World Cup to strengthen their squads for next season, and Arsenal did not, Gunners fans were left worrying if this was deja vu. Would Arsene Wenger dither again and let the teams top transfer targets get away?
The answer appears to be no as it looks like Arsenal have landed their top target, Barcelona striker Alexis Sanchez for a bargain price of £30 million.
Sanchez impressed everyone at the World Cup, where he was Chile’s best player. He had been links with a move to both Liverpool and Juventus, but credit to Arsenal for convincing Sanchez to move to London and Arsenal and not be part of any swap deal between Barca and Liverpool for Suarez.
It will be interesting to see how Wenger fits Sanchez, Ozil, Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud into his line-up next season. Sanchez has usually played on the right for Barcelona, but for Chile in the World Cup he played as part of a two-man strike force. Will Wenger change formations next season and play Giroud and Sanchez up-front together or will he move Sanchez to the left in an attacking three with Ozil/Walcott battling it out for the right sided position?
Arsenal are also expected to complete a £11m move for Newcastle defender Mathieu Debuchy this week, while an £8m deal for QPR striker Loic Remy is reportedly being held up only by his personal terms.
What do you think of the Sanchez deal Arsenal fans?