Gael Clichy. Perplexing signing. The story I hear from Arsenal fans (none of whom, apart from Ian Wright, appear sad to lose him) is that Clichy was excellent until he gave away a late penalty against Birmingham in 2008 since when he's never been the same. That's three years ago.
Pros: Athletic, dynamic, only 25, only 7 million
Cons: Poor positional sense, concentration issues, panic attacks, poor in the air, injury-prone, even worse crosser than Kolarov, living off past reputation
I'm really a bit perplexed by this one and I can't see exactly what it is the club sees that makes this guy any better or different to what we have. Obviously we're attempting to fry bigger fish at this point so perhaps we simply saw an opportunity to add cover and took it but in my view left back was a critical deficiency last season and I'm not sure how this improves matters.
Stefan Savic. The kind of signing I see us making frequently in years to come.
Pros: Upside, height, he's only 20!
Cons: We'll find out
Obviously there's some risk here bearing in mind the kid's tender years and lack of experience (yes, yes I know he played in the CL last year) but he's one for the future and will provide an immediate kick up the pants to Toure and Lescott - neither of whom have proved they're good enough yet.
Still, I'm a little surprised we haven't made a move for a more experienced high-caliber center back who can walk into side as a quality partner to Kompany. Maybe we're not done yet.
Summer transfer rating to date: C. OK-ish signings but we still haven't managed to shift anyone out. Lots of time yet though!