The transfer window is for fans what Christmas is for children. They write their wishlists and send them off to the imaginary football Santa in the hope that come the climax of Deadline Day, all their wishes will have come true. For Arsenal fans, this was meant to be the summer that Arsene Wenger would spend his cash reserve and turn them into title challengers. In the end, it turned out to be a summer of striker related sagas which ended with Arsenal signing a world class attacking midfielder to join two free agents and a loan signing. So how well have Arsenal done this summer? Could their transfer business see them challenge for the Premier League title once again? For much of the summer, Brazilian stopper Julio Cesar seemed destined to move across London from Queens Park Rangers yet despite his relatively cheap price tag Arsene Wenger, to the surprise of many, did not make a move. Why is unclear though the fact that Cesar failed to move anywhere this summer would suggest his wage demands put off any potential suitors. Stoke's Asmir Begovic was also mentioned a lot in the press yet Stoke's hefty asking price appears to have been too much for Arsenal to pay for a 'keeper who they wanted to challenge Wojciech Szczesny, not replace. In the end, they added Palermo's Emiliano Viviano. Capped by Italy, Viviano was on loan at Fiorentina last year but they rejected the chance to sign him for 7.5 million. After missing most of the 2011 to 2012 season with a anterior cruciate ligament injury, Viviano will be hoping to get his career back on track at Arsenal and should provide good competition for the current goalkeepers. A defender would have been a nice bonus this summer but given Arsenal's form towards the end of last season, it was never going to be high on Arsene Wenger's list of priorities. Kieran Gibbs and Nacho Monreal will compete for the left back spot whilst Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny have established themselves as Arsenal's first choice centre back partnership. Bacary Sagna and Carl Jenkinson give Arsenal cover for the right back spot whilst Sagna and Thomas Vermaelen can both play at centre half whilst Vermaelen will also play left back. Ashley Williams was a name Arsenal were linked with all summer but given his price, Micah Richards from Manchester City would have been a better option given his ability to play at right back or in the middle. Another reason for the lack of defensive signing at Arsenal was the return of former Gunner Mathieu Flamini. Flamini is certainly the type of midfielder Arsenal fans would have wanted their club to sign but given that it's another ex-player returning, many fans would have been left underwhelmed. However, Arsene Wenger will hope Flamini can have a similar effect that Thierry Henry did on his brief return and based on the fifty minutes Flamini played against Tottenham, fans can be optimistic. Flamini is a hard working midfielder who loves to get stuck in and will break the opposition's play down but it remains to be seen how much game time he will get once Mikel Arteta returns from injury. Manchester United have received a lot of criticism this week about their transfer business with some calling it and particularly the failed attempt to sign Ander Herrera, "embarrassing" yet Arsenal's pursuit of a top striker this summer has been just as embarrassing, if not more so. Early on in the window it seemed like Arsenal were going to sign Real Madrid's Gonzalo Higuain. Most of the English press were reporting that the deal was basically complete and Arsenal fans were excited about the prospect of a replacement for Robin Van Persie. However, at the last minute Real Madrid reportedly upped their price, Arsenal heard about a special clause in Luis Suarez's contract and the rest is history. Suarez wanted to leave Anfield and whilst Higuain was on his way to Napoli, Arsenal were told any bid over £40 million would be accepted by Liverpool over an agreement reached last summer. The now infamous offer of £40,000,000 and a pound did nothing other than embarrass Arsenal and weaken relations between the two clubs. In the end, Arsenal's first signing of the summer was a striker, Yaya Sanogo on a free transfer from Auxerre. It was quite a come down for Arsenal fans given the names they were linked with and despite a mad dash on Deadline Day, Arsenal were unable to add Demba Ba to their ranks leaving them short up front at the moment if Olivier Giroud join Lukas Podolski on the injury list. Bringing players in was not the only thing Arsene Wenger had to do this summer. To keep with the Christmas analogy, Wenger had to sell all of the old toys that were no longer needed to make room in the toy box for any additions. On this front, Arsenal were very successful with the likes of Andre Santos, Denilson, Gervinho and Marouane Chamakh all departing the club yet at the end of the window, Arsenal were left with the one armed Action Man that is Nicklas Bendtner and the board game with no dice that is Park Chu Young. Arsenal's failure to add another striker meant they could not sanction Bendtner's move to Crystal Palace whilst it's doubtful if anyone knows where Park is to make a bid for him. Arsenal will surely look to bring another striker in during the January window to allow both players to leave and end what's been a nightmare few years for the duo. 'The biggest buy Arsenal have made since Dennis Bergkamp' is what many Arsenal fans called Arsenal's deadline day swoop for Mesut zil. A club record fee of roughly £43 million- nearly three times more than Arsenal's previous highest- and a wage that smashes Arsenal's previous structure, you'd hope that now Arsenal have radically changed their transfer policy, it would be on a player who was worth it. Previous Manager Jose Mourinho called him "The best number 10 in the world" and over the past five seasons zil has provided more assists than any other player in Europe. Some have said that Arsenal don't need zil, that his signing has just papered over the cracks and the money would have been better spent on a striker and though this maybe true, signing a world class striker is easier said than done. Arsenal would have never competed financially for Falcao or Cavani, Lewandowski has his heart set on Munich whilst it is highly doubtful if Manchester United and Liverpool would have sold Wayne Rooney and Luis Suarez to Arsenal no matter what money was involved. Arsenal maybe should have just paid a bit over the odds and signed Higuain or took a gamble on David Villa but they thought they could get Suarez and once that option was done with Arsene Wenger had to look for another way to improve his squad and he has done so by adding one of the most creative players in world football. The zil signing is not just huge in terms of finance, or the players ability, it is a combination of the two. For the past eight years Arsenal have been unable, for whatever reason, to compete with the other big teams on the transfer market yet this signing has sent out a huge statement. Viviano should prove to be good cover and so should Flamini who could stake a claim for a first team place in Arsenal's midfield, contrasting well to the skill, craft and guile of those around him. However, if Arsenal are to have any success this season, they will need to keep their important players fit, hope Olivier Giroud can keep up his goal scoring form and address the lack of strength upfront come January.
