The much anticipated twenty-goals-a-season striker that was meant to arrive at White Hart Lane must have missed his turning, along with that defensive midfield lynchpin that surely got lost on his way to the emirates; but Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal boast new signings that could prove vital in the battle to be in next seasons Champions League.
However fans from both the red and the white halves of North London may be somewhat disgruntled that their manager’s never strengthened their squads in different areas.
Tottenham was expected to bring in a striker, with Emmanuel Adebayor and Jermain Defoe being their only recognised strikers, the former was also away on African cup of nations duty before Togo’s elimination.
Instead Spurs bought in much coveted winger Lewis Holtby from Schalke 04 in a move that was originally planned to go through in the summer, but was bought forward by six months. Holtby certainly has the pedigree and the potential to succeed at Tottenham but was signing another midfielder really beneficial to the club and what it is trying to achieve this season?
Life long Tottenham fan Jordan Mckenzie felt that AVB should have done more in the January window if they are to beat arch rivals Arsenal to the Champions League places. “All the top four clubs have at least two or three strikers that they can call on, why would Tottenham allow Adebayor to leave at such an important part of the season and not bring any one in?” questioned Mr Mckenzie. “Signing another midfielder was simply a waste of money.”
Just down the road, at the Emirates, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was busy signing Spanish left-back Nacho Monreal on the transfer deadline day. The former Malaga player put in a steady performance on his debut against Stoke, but again, question marks were raised to the signing of a left-back rather than a midfield general that the fans think the club needs.
A lot of fans expected Wenger to bring in a defensive midfielder to add steel to the middle of the park. The departure of Song to Barcelona have left Arsenal relying on the Injury prone Abou Diaby, who when fit can do the job but is hardly present for the Gunners. Wenger has turned to Mikel Arteta to fill the void and although talented, Arteta is not naturally a Defensive player.
Courtney Bowen is a 20-year-old arsenal supporter who believes that Wenger knows best, although he would have liked to have seen a new midfielder at the club. “Yes we haven’t won a trophy since 2005 but Wenger knows what he is doing” explained the fan. “Monreal is a good player but we didn’t need him, I would have preferred to see a Mohamed Diame putting on the Arsenal shirt but I’m sure we will make it to the Champions League this season, we always do.”
What remains to be seen is the affect that both Monreal and Holtby will have on the fight for the top four, but what is guaranteed is that both Arsene Wenger and Andre Villas-Boas knows that the battle will be tough.