Lucas Perez (official)

[Kano]

I definitely don't think fan pressure has anything to do with these signings. We were after a striker, with two bids made public and the injuries to Merts and Gabriel made it obvious a new player was needed there in addition to Holding.

If Wenger is seen as someone who doesn't care about, listen to and condescends toward the fans, then a couple of matches with a small section up in arms wouldn't have made a difference to him. He's stubborn as a mule and makes these decisions on his terms only.

The problem, as always, is the timing of the signings. We should've had these guys in and ready for the start of the season. Not two (probably three) games into it. There is also an international break after this weekend, which means even less time for Mustafi to bed-in with the team, which is really needed for the defence.

If, as the fan article about Perez indicates, he is similar to Vardy then hopefully that does lean toward a change in style and feels like a more considered purchase if he is a similar style of player. All of which remains to be seen. Either way, having another striker option can only improve us, even if it is marginally at worst. That said, even a 25+ goalscorer wasn't going to be our saviour. We all know we need a new manager to make the best of any squad at the club. But, we also need more goals from midfield. It's pretty barren back there and until we get a better spread across the team, our tendency to be wasteful will be more heightened.

[Power n Glory]

No that's why I said no-one is going to do it. And in the final paragraph i make it clear that i am making no judgement on Lucas Perez because i know literally nothing about him

I don't think this particular transfer was planned no, i think we looked at him but probably thought there was something out there better, but came back to it a) because we are struggling to find better b) everton were about to sign him and c) yes the fans are up would be up in arms if he did nothing and it's quite possible that there might be arm twisting from above.....if true shame it couldn't have been done earlier but i guess better late than never.

Going back to earlier discussions about our structure, do you think Wenger had a change of heart?

[Marc Overmars]

It's a signing that exemplifies our struggle in the transfer market for sure, but it's better than nothing and hopefully Wenger is now prepared to try something different, as by all accounts this guy is the opposite to Giroud in terms of style.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Going back to earlier discussions about our structure, do you think Wenger had a change of heart?

Change of Heart? No i think if he had no intention of signing a striker all the arm twisting in the world wouldn't have changed his mind.....I think he always intended to sign a striker but he was making a litany of excuses because he wasn't able to get deals done because he was unable to sign the players he wanted most for the value he wanted.

Is there evidence that he has been leaned on to get a move on and expedite a deal?....Perhaps, i would argue that there is more evidence of that in the Mustafi deal....in the sense that we suddenly seem prepared to meet Valencia's valuation for him after three weeks of wrangling.

[Power n Glory]

Change of Heart? No i think if he had no intention of signing a striker all the arm twisting in the world wouldn't have changed his mind.....I think he always intended to sign a striker but he was making a litany of excuses because he wasn't able to get deals done because he was unable to sign the players he wanted most for the value he wanted.

Is there evidence that he has been leaned on to get a move on and expedite a deal?....Perhaps, i would argue that there is more evidence of that in the Mustafi deal....in the sense that we suddenly seem prepared to meet Valencia's valuation for him after three weeks of wrangling.

Sounds like this was planned and not a panic buy when you put it like that.

[Maestro]

Also, if this wasn’t planned, what caused the change? Did the pressure come from above? Was Wenger taken back a bit by the fans reaction at the last game?

Quite a few of our recent signings have been down to fear of a fan's backlash. Always similar circumstances;

1. We fail to sign the required players early enough
2. Wenger rides it out and insists we are ready for the season
3. Season starts and we tank it
4. Fan fury is at boiling point
5. Out he dashes for a last minute signing

Everything to do with restless natives IMHO

[Niall_Quinn]

He looks decent on youtube though. I know that doesn't mean a lot.

He'll be our striker. I think he'll get better in the role.

Don't bet the house on it. Let's wait and see, it wouldn't surprise me at all if Wenger starts him on the wing.

[Niall_Quinn]

Has anyone said that? He just looks like a decent alternative. Also, if this wasn’t planned, what caused the change? Did the pressure come from above? Was Wenger taken back a bit by the fans reaction at the last game?

The pressure probably came from many places. Everyone and his horse knew we needed reinforcements, except Wenger of course. Wenger certainly won't have been swayed by the fans, who he clearly despises. But the board might have been. Image will be important to them and they won't want to be seen as a going nowhere, laughing stock of a club that presents declining incentives for sponsors. I'm not saying they will have been greatly influenced, it'd be more like, just do it, we don't need the fuss.

And I agree with the general sentiment that this has been a clusterfuck of a transfer window. The sort of mayhem that only Wenger could achieve. None of the players we bought would have been on my list. Roughly £90mill has now been spent and to be honest, we don't have a lot to show for it. Roll the clock back and stick a £70/80 mill bid in for a top striker, spend another 20 on a quality CB. That's how it should have been done. The stupid idiots have ended up spending the money anyway and there's no way I'm buying the idea Wenger set out with Mustafi and Perez on his shopping list.

All in all it's a... hurts your head thinking about the way Wenger operates.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Sounds like this was planned and not a panic buy when you put it like that.

The Mustafi deal was not a panic buy, it's been clear for the better part of a month we were after him

Lucas Perez?.....I think that it appears that we revisited a player we didn't originally appear to be interested in suggests it was something of a panic buy.

[Niall_Quinn]

What worries me is that we might ditch the Lewandowski deal now.