Arsenal insider David Ornstein has claimed that the club planned their January transfers well, but could understand how it could have come across as unorganised.
The Gunners completed the arrivals of two big signings this month, while allowing the wantaway Alexis Sanchez to quit the club in the process.
The Chilean was allowed to join rivals Manchester United, with 29 year-old Henrikh Mkhitaryan moving in the opposite direction as part of the deal, but we are believed to have been resigned to losing Alexis on a free transfer come the end of the season, and could consider ourselves lucky to have landed such a top replacement in return for a player with little time on his contract remaining.
Our club followed up that move with the arrival of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, a former team-mate of the Armenian signing from their time at Borussia Dortmund, and can now boast a deadly looking front-line.
Journalist David Ornstein is known for his inside knowledge at the Emirates, and he is of the belief that our plan came together nicely this month.
“What may have seemed from the outside to be a lack of a coherent plan, actually came together satisfactorily,” Ornstein told BBC Sport.
“Arsenal were in a difficult situation because Sanchez wanted to leave and suddenly it came about that they could get Mkhitaryan as a replacement, which was not something they anticipated.
“So they came out of that quite well, despite not getting any money for one of the best forwards in Europe.
“And then of course they secured Aubameyang, who was their preferred target to replace Sanchez, for a fee of around £56m when he was valued at around £100m recently and supposedly considered by Real Madrid.
“Right now I think they will be fairly happy about it.”
Do we have to consider ourselves lucky or did our club pan out the window on point?
Pat J