Confirmed: Arsenal sign Arteta and Benayoun!

Arsenal has done a great job on the transfer deadline day.

It is now officially confirmed that Andre Santos, Per Mertesacker and Benayoun have joined Arsenal.

According to BBC, we also have signed Arteta for a fee of around 10 million. He will join the club on a four year deal.

This is what @bbcsport_david tweeted on twitter minutes after the window officially closed:

“I can confirm Arteta and Bendtner are DONE deals #bbcfootball #afc #safc #efc”

“Arteta signs for Arsenal for fee in region of £10m. No news on contract length, squad number. Bendy to #safc on year-long loan #bbcfootball”

Arsenal has officially confirmed Arteta’s signing and Bendtner’s loan move to Sunderland.

Great news all around!

More to follow!

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Benayoun on loan to Arsenal and Arteta also close to signing!? Mertesacker to wear No. 4 shirt

After announcing earlier that Per Mertesacker deal was pending formal completion, Arsenal has now officially announced that the deal is completed. He will wear the number 4 shirt.

Arsene Wenger on signing him said:

“We are delighted to welcome Per Mertesacker to the Club. He is a German international with vast experience and strength and is good on the floor and in the air. I believe he will be well-suited to the Premier League and a tremendous asset to the team.”

Mertesacker, on completing his move, said:

“I had a great time at SV Werder Bremen and I’m grateful to the club. Moving to London enables me to fulfil a dream and a further step in my career. The Premier League has always represented a great challenge for me.”

And in a major development, talks with Arteta have started again according to Skysports. In a major twist in our favor, Arteta is now only a few minutes from signing for Arsenal.

It is being reported that the deal is agreed and only wages and personal stuff is to be decided. Arteta himself is pushing in for the move. Which means this deal is well and truly done!

This comes on the back of Benayoun talks, on whom the latest report is we have signed him on a season long loan.

Stay tuned as the confirmation comes in!

Update: It is now confirmed that Benayoun has signed for us. This is what the player tweeted just a few minutes ago:

“I sign with arsenal,very happy and excited about it,but now my head is only in the game against grecce on friday,thanks for the support.”

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Arteta interest has ended but we may still get Benayoun!

Everything is happening at the moment for Arsenal. Earlier today reports started appearing that we have opened talks with Everton for their playmaker, Mikael Arteta. The offer at first was cash plus Bendtner which was followed up by a £10 million bid, later reported to be rejected by Everton, who are asking for £15 million.

As things stand, Skysports is reporting that we have ended our interest in the Spanish playmaker.

However, in another development partly related to above, we are now moving in for Chelsea’s Yossi Benayoun according to Skysports sources. He has also been linked with Liverpool but recent reports suggest that we are in talks with Benayoun, for a possible loan move.

Now, ideally I would have liked both of the above mentioned players at Arsenal together. Arteta is very creative and he could have been a decent replacement for Fabregas. Combined with the talents of Wilshere and Benayoun, we could have filled some of the gaps left in by Fabregas and Nasri. Now however, I don’t believe that Benayoun alone is the answer to our midfield problems. He can be great but his injury record is a concern.

And Even if we do get Benayoun, we would still require another creative midfielder. And with just less than three hours to go, we are in for a tense final hours before the window closes.

Anything can happen. It is getting frustrating at the same time now as no new signing have taken place today. Santos, Mertesacker and Park were done yesterday, two of them were only announced today. Maybe we have someone else lined up. Keep your fingers crossed!

More to follow

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