Summer Transfer Window Review - Arsenal's Glee, Liverpool's Strides,and Man U's Ineptitude

And so the summer transfer window has slammed shut. Months worth of rumors all culminating into one final day in which some hearts were broken and some hearts soared among the clouds in glee. We had a record signing (Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for 85mil), an emerging superstar finally left the comfort of his homeland to come to Europe (Neymar to Barcalona), and the summer's most fascinating transfer saga (Luis Suarez attempting to force his way out of Liverpool) ultimately amounted to nothing. With these things said, let's take a look at how the Premier League's top clubs faired this window.

Arsenal

In: Mesut Ozil (Real Madrid), Emiliano Viviano (Palermo), Mathieu Flamini (AC Milan), Yaya Sanogo (Auxerre)

Out: Denilson (Sao Paolo), Andrei Arshavin (Zenit St. Petersburg), Gervinho (AS Roma), Marouane Chamakh (Crystal Palace),  Andre Santos (Flamengo), Sebastien Squillaci (Bastia), and a whole host of other young players.

Mesut Ozil is the perfect signing for Arsene Wenger's style of play

It certainly was a roller coaster of a transfer window for the Gunners. The summer began with Arsene Wenger and Ivan Gazidis bragging about the spending power they possessed. We heard names such as Wayne Rooney, Gonzalo Higuain, Luis Suarez, and Luiz Gustavo all linked heavily with Arsenal only for those rumors to amount to nothing. Heading into the season, all Arsenal had accomplished was the signing of an unproven striker for France's Ligue 2 for free. Wenger had also trimmed his wage bill by dumping most, if not all, of Arsenal's deadwood. As a result, the lack of signings left the team very thin in the depth department. Following Arsenal's abomination of a season opener against Aston Villa, the fan's rightly revolted and lashed out at the club for their lack of spending. This lack of spending would continue into the late hours of the window's deadline before the fanbase was rewarded with the massive signing that they had been clamoring for. Wenger finally opened his chequebook and purchased playmaker Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid, smashing Arsenal's transfer window. Arsenal fans are absolutely ecstatic with the move, as they should be. This is the biggest signing since Arsenal signed Dennis Bergkamp. For years fans have been clamoring for Wenger to spend big on a star, world-class player and finally they have one. This signing isn't so much about Ozil as it is about the change of philosophy going on around the Emirates. Arsenal, after years of watching other team's poach their players and miss out on stars, they are finally willing to spend the money required to be competitive in not just England but in Europe as well. Ozil is a fantastic addition and he joins the team as they have entered a fantastic run of form. Olivier Giroud has been fantastic thus far and now the Gunners midfield is an embarrassment of riches. The other signings this window are not nearly on the same level as Ozil but are still quality. Emiliano Viviano will push Wojciech Szczesny for the No. 1 spot in Arsenal's goal. Mathieu Flamini, returning to Arsenal after 5 years, will provide versatility and grit in Arsenal's midfield (not to mention he was fantastic in his debut against Spurs). Yaya Sanogo is a signing for the future and his performances at the U-20 World Cup will certainly have Arsenal fans excited to watch him grow as a player. Overall, it was a successful window for Arsenal despite leaving their business exceptionally late. Arsenal fans now have a world class signing to boast about and things are certainly changing in North London.

Chelsea

In: Samuel Eto'o (Anzhi Makhachkala), Willian (Anzhi Makhachkala), Christian Atsu (FC Porto), Mark Schwarzer (Fulham), Andre Schurrle (Bayer Leverkusen), Marco van Ginkel (Vitesse Arnhem)

Out: Romelu Lukaku (Everton - Loan), Victor Moses (Liverpool - Loan), Marko Marin (Sevilla FC - Loan)

Hasn't taken long for Jose Mourinho to bring his charm (and controversy) 

Jose Mourinho's return to Stamford Bridge has certainly been interesting to say the least. He's already gotten into the head of United's new manager David Moyes (more on him later) and has caused a fair bit of controversy around the league. For most of the summer, Mourinho spent his time pursuing Manchester United's wantaway striker. However, his persistence paid off as even his blatant attempts to unsettle the player didn't affect United's resolve.  He even said all the right things about Rooney and his relationship with Man U after the game (in typical Mourinho fashion). However, that didn't keep Mourinho from getting other business done. He successfully highjacked Tottenham's move for Willian after the player had done a medical for Spurs. Not to mention reuniting with old pal Samuel Eto'o from the Special One's days at Inter. Mourinho even put star midfielder Juan Mata on the block for no reason other than to troll every other top club in the Premiership. Yes, it certainly seems that the Trolling One is back in grand style for Chelsea. Moving on to the questions at hand, Chelsea is left with a glut of extremely talented players at the midfield position. It will certainly be interesting to see how Mourinho juggles such a talented bunch. One would assume that Juan Mata and Eden Hazard would be locks to start, but anything is possible. Chelsea's striking problems look to be solved with Eto'o and Atsu arriving. I was really looking forward to seeing how the young Romelu Lukaku would fare at Chelsea after tearing it up on loan for West Brom last season. Instead, Mourinho shockingly loaned the young striker out to Everton. In similar fashion he cleared out some dead weight from his midfield by letting Victor Moses and Marko Marin go out on loan as well. Mourinho is back people, in style.

Liverpool

In: Luis Alberto (Sevilla FC), Iago Aspas (Celta Vigo), Kolo Toure (Manchester City), Mamadou Sakho (Paris St. Germain), Tiago Ilori (Sporting Lisbon), Victor Moses (Chelsea - Loan), Aly Cissokho (Valencia - Loan), Simon Mignolet (Sunderland)

Out: Andy Carroll (West Ham), Stewart Downing (West Ham), Fabio Borini (Sunderland - Loan), Oussama Assaidi (Stoke City - Loan), Jay Spearing (Bolton), Pepe Reina (Napoli - Loan), Jonjo Shelvey (Swansea City)

Great business such as this has Liverpool on the rise

Brendan Rodgers has certainly been a busy man in the past 12 months. His transfer business seemingly intent on erasing the ugly stains from the Damian Comoli era in which ludicrous fees were paid for players not even worth half (Downing and Carroll being the poster children). While Rodgers didn't succeed right away (Joe Allen and Fabio Borini both struggled mightily). He has nailed it with his moves since the beginning of the year. Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge have been fantastic signings. So with those guys in the fold I was really curious to see what Rodgers would do for this third act and he certainly hasn't disappointed. He's reinforced Liverpool's back line with the signings of Sakho, Toure, and Ilori, added attacking flair with Moses and Aspas, and found himself a great goalkeeper in Simon Mignolet. He continued the clearout of the wrong Kenny Dalglish guys like Carroll and Downing while keeping the right ones like Jose Enrique and Luis Suarez. Wait? Did I just say Luis Suarez? Yes, Liverpool were able to hang on to the star striker which was probably the biggest win of the transfer window. Liverpool had a great transfer window, getting fantastic value for what they paid. Mamadou Sakho is one of Europe's most talented young centre backs and should anchor Liverpool's back line for years. Rodgers is adept at finding talented players who are rotting away on other team's benches. He found Sturridge and Coutinho like this and this window went out and got Sakho and Victor Moses; two players underappreciated by their old teams that should find regular player time at Anfield. Sure, Liverpool missed out on that one "big" signing that the fans wanted (Henrikh Mkhitryan, Willian, and Christian Eriksen all examples of this) but they landed several young, hungry, and talented players. The Reds are now incredibly deep and can definitely make a run for a Champions League place.

Manchester City

In: Stevan Jovetic (Fiorentina), Jesus Navas (Sevilla FC), Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla FC), Fernandinho (Shakhtar Donetsk), Martin Demichelis (Atletico Madrid)

Out: Carlos Tevez (Juventus), Kolo Toure (Liverpool), Gareth Barry (Everton - Loan), Maicon (AS Roma), Scott Sinclair (West Brom - Loan)

Carlos Tevez definitely wore out his welcome leading to his sale

Looking to rebound from their laughable title defense last season, Manchester City certainly wasted no time hitting the transfer market running. Before Manuel Pellegrini was even brought in as manager the team had already brought in Jesus Navas and Fernandinho. The team would buy big later as well, Jovetic and Negredo following soon after. City also unloaded Carlos Tevez off of their wage bill, probably a good thing considering how enigmatic and moody the player has been the past two seasons. This was an important window however, City needing to send a clear message to United that they're serious about taking the title back this season. The most important move of the off season however was the hiring of Pellegrini. He's a fantastic manager, one who certainly overachieved with Malaga, a team that was hugely in debt and mostly made of cast offs from other teams. He'll bring more stability to City's locker room which was occasionally implosive over the course of last seasons campaigns. New additions are always expected at the Etihad at this time of the year so more importance falls on the subtractions. Maicon and Scott Sinclair were reminders of Roberto Mancini's failures last season and they were both promptly shipped off. Gareth Barry, a favorite of Mancini's, is now relegated to reserves with the arrival of Fernandinho and was quickly sent off as well. City's additions should do quite well, Negredo and Navas have settled in right away and Fernandinho has provided creativity in the midfield. It's always a busy window for City and one can certainly say that they overpaid for their additions but it wouldn't be City if they didn't.

Manchester United

In: Marouane Fellaini (Everton), lots of imaginary players, figments of David Moyes' dreams

Out: Nobody of much consequence other than Paul Scholes' retirement

Doing little during the window and losing to Liverpool has not endeared Moyes to fans

It's pretty easy to make fun of how piss-poor United's window was. Of course, as an Arsenal fan we were mostly stuck in the same boat for most of the summer but now that we've got Ozil...HAHAHAHA MAN U SUCKS!!!! Alright, now I'll settle down. United's summer did mirror Arsenal's with new manager David Moyes striking out on literally all of his key targets. Cesc Fabregas was a doomed venture from the beginning (the guy has literally said he'll only play for one club in England: Arsenal), the bids for Leighton Baines awfully low, Thiago Alcantara jumping to Bayern at the last minute. United fans were even holding out hope that Ronaldo would come back or Gareth Bale would forget that it's always been his dream to play for Real Madrid and he'd join Man U instead. (Seriously, Man U fans are a thick headed bunch, many of whom probably still think Ronaldo plays there). It's laughable to think that Robin Van Persie left Arsenal and now he's surrounded by a totally dry on creativity midfield. Don't tell Man U fans this though, they'll claim that Shinji Kagawa and Michael Carrick are on equal terms as Xavi and Iniesta. I can just imagine David Moyes frantically making phone calls just begging players to come join him. "It's the Man U you know and love! I mean, Sir Alex doesn't work here anymore. But I'm his handpicked successor...kind of. Please join?" Seriously, Manchester United lost a huge amount of their prestige because they went from Sir Alex Ferguson to a guy whose biggest accomplishment was getting Everton to Champions League once and then putting in a piss-poor showing the following season. I guess Moyes did save face a bit, signing up Fellaini, who actually slots in phenomenally well for United. However, he was easily Moyes' seventh or eighth choice for a big summer signing and probably could have signed the player up in July if he had made an actual sane bid for him. Looking at the picture of Moyes and Fellaini, Moyes has on this embarrassed face that basically says "you're happy...right? right? please?" Worst...poker face...ever. This window does make me wonder though, was the Sir Alex the main attraction when players signed for Man U? Moyes certainly was a great player on the transfer market when he was finding bargain stars at Everton. But when it comes to playing with the big boys and the big stars, Moyes appears dazed and confused, still amazed that he got the United job. During the process of Mesut Ozil's transfer to Arsenal, the player turned down offers from PSG and Manchester United because of the connection he had with Arsene Wenger. Having a manager with an illustrious record gives you a huge boost on the transfer market. Maybe Moyes gets there some day, maybe he doesn't. But it's clear this window that this is a new team and maybe they miss Ferguson even more than they already think.

Tottenham Hotspur

In: Erik Lamela (AS Roma), Christian Eriksen (Ajax), Roberto Soldado (Valencia), Paulinho (Corinthians), Etienne Capoue (Toulouse), Nacer Chadli (FC Twente), Vlad Chiriches (FC Steaua Bucharest)

Out: GARETH BALE (Real Madrid), Steven Caulker (Cardiff City), Scott Parker (Fulham), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders), Benoit Assou-Ekotto (QPR - Loan), Tom Huddlestone (Hull City), Jake Livermore (Hull City)

106mil and still in Arsenal's shadow

Tottenham's window was the exact opposite of Arsenal's. The Gareth Bale deal was locked up back in July, let's not bullshit here. The Spurs instead tried to hold the sale until the last minute because they knew that the market would open up once Bale moved. Clearly, that move backfired on them and Arsenal ended up with a world-class midfielder named MESUT OZIL (still can't get over that we signed him). Not only that but for all their spending (around 106mil) they still lost to an Arsenal team that had Nacho Monreal playing left-wing for the last quarter of the match. This team misses Gareth Bale. You can talk to me all you want about how Spurs only need more time to jell, that they have way too much talent to finish below Champions League again this season; you're still wrong. This team can't score from open play against opponents that actually play defense, their link up play is awful, their players give away the ball way too easily. Arsenal won 1-0, but that game easily could have been 3-0 if not for Hugo Lloris' super effort in goal. Tottenham relied so much on Bale last season. When the chips were down, he was the guy that was always there to bail them out (pun totally intended). Without him last year, they finish below Everton or even Liverpool last season. They needed Bale this past Sunday. Sure, they've stocked up well; Eriksen and Lamela are great young players, Soldado is a proven and prolific striker, but that all means nothing when put up against a cohesive team like Arsenal (or any of the top squads). Anyways, Spurs did add some quality players to their roster and have pretty dope uniforms this year (thats as nice as I'll be here). Clint Dempsey is an idiot for leaving the Premier League, taking the Landon Donovan route of staying in the MLS for no apparent reason. Dempsey clearly had something to offer a Premier League team, maybe not Spurs because of the way they've stocked up this window but at least some other team would have taken him. I guess he feels that his national team spot is secure and he's done growing as a player? Maybe he wasn't as comfortable in Europe as we thought? Either way, I'm not a fan because I was proud to see an American do well in the Premier League. Guess now I'll tune in to watch Jozy Altidore at Sunderland. But I digress, Spurs had a good window, I guess. But so far theres no proof that any of that spending has actually helped. I guess time will tell. But as an Arsenal fan I'll just thank Spurs for helping us get Ozil, mind the gap, and move on.