Bacary Sagna (Auxerre, undisclosed): I never really thought Wenger would be looking for a full back in the off season but Sagna has been a welcome addition to the squad. Almost immediately, he has taken the right back slot and Eboue has been moved forward it would be seem to play right midfield. Sagna can play at left back too and looks to be level headed, a hard tackler and a great athlete. For the first time since Lauren got injured, the right back position is in safe hands.
Lukasz Fabianski (Legia Warsaw, £2m): I was really pleased when this purhcase was publicised as Arsenal needed a young buck to come in and put pressure on Almunia and the ageing Lehmann. I'd initially hoped that Akinfeev would be bought in but Fabianski was a classic Wenger purchase (young, talented, hungry, sensibly priced).
Eduardo da Silva (Dinamo Zagreb, undisclosed): I'm excited about this player, eventhough I'm dubious as to Wenger's intentions with him. I actually believe that Da Silva will end up playing more left wing than as a striker. The day that he signed for the club, Wenger said that he could play wide left too and I was immedialtely suspicious. Against Sparta prague he looked better when he was on the left wing, but if my instinct is correct, then we haven't replaced Henry. I don't believe that Walcott, Bendtner and Adebayor are good enough to start for Arsenal at the moment and they still need another striker.
Havard Nordtveit (FK Haugesund, undisclosed): Since Jay Simpson has been sent on loan to Millwall, the younsgter has been named reserve team captain. This is testament to his character but only time will tell if this is another diamond in the rough.
Lassana Diarra (Chelsea, indiscolosed): A welcome surpise the morning after the transfer deadline closed. People will say that central midfield is congested at Arsenal but most of the players that spring to mind are more attacking midfielders (Fabregas, Diaby, Denilson). Diarra will compete with Gilberto for the defensive midfield position, leaving Flamini and Song in his wake.
The list of outgoing players is quite long but just think of the money that Wenger has saved on wages by getting rid of Henry, Ljungberg and Baptista.
A number of Arsenal players left in the Summer Sales.
Aliadiere (Middlesborough, £2m): He was at Arsenal for ages and never took the opportunities to show he was good enough to be part of the First team Squad. He never lived up to the potential he had when he arrived at the club. I never saw him as a striker, but more of a winger and if he'd embraced the position he may have carved himself a niche in the squad.
I wasn't sad to see him go.
Baptista (returned to Real Madrid): I was excited when the big man arrived at the club last season. His time in Madrid had been unsuccessful but his 50 odd goals in two seasons at Seville looked impressive. As a Brazilian, I was surpsrised to see his first touch was poor, he had very little pace and he looked like he was playing in slow motion. His strength is the timing of his runs into the box and he scored a few goals this way, but he missed far too many chances and never settled into the team. He arrived as part of the loan deal with Reyes and never got the fans on his side
I wasn't sad to see him go.
Ljungberg (West Ham, £3m): I will always be a fan of Freddie. It seems like he was at Arsenal forever and he was an integral part of the team but age and injuries caught up with him. It was sad to watch him regress over the past season or two and Arsenal certainly missed his goals and scorching runs into the penatly area. He's lost his pace and has become more fragile, so it was time to move on. He deserves to play football and not just sit on the bench.
I was sad to see him go, but more from a nostalgic point of view.
Lupoli (Fiorentina, free): I never really saw much of Lupoli, but he was well thought of and scored lots of goals in the reserves. He moved on from his loan deal at Derby to Fiorentina, but it's a shame the club didn't make any money from the move.
I wasn't sad to see him go.
Muamba (Birmingham, iundisclosed): The young midfielder was a revelation at Birmingham last year and eventually signed a permanent deal with Steve Bruce's side. It's a shame to see another one of Arsenal's young Englishman moving on without ever establishing himself in the first team squad. But he's too far down the pecking order.
I wasn't sad to see him go.
Poom (Watford, free): It's always good to have a trustworthy third goalkeeper, but the Estonian should be playing every week at this stage of his career. I thought his display at Portsmouth on the last day of last season was very good, but he never really got out of the reserves. I thought he may wish to stay on at Arsenal in order to further his experience in coaching.
I wasn't sad to see him go.
Reyes (Atletico Madrid, undisclosed): I may upset some Arsenal fans in saying this but I wish Reyes had never left Arsenal. I accept that he was a poor traveller but he worked his socks off and provided much needed pace, a left foot and the width that was lacking last season. If only he'd apologised to Wenger, his teammates and the fans because I'd have forgiven him and gladly had him back in the squad. I was so excited by Reyes after his brace of goals against Chelsea and I had high hopes for him, which will never materialise. What a shame.
I was sad to see him go.
Thierry Henry (Barcelona £16.1m): Well it was just time to go and I've talked about this previously.
I was gutted to see him go as I feel we never really said goodbye. When I heard he'd left it was like being dumped by my first girlfriend.
Ryan Garry (Bournemouth, free): Never really had a chance at Arsenal.
I didn't even realise he'd left.
Johan Djourou (Birmingham, loan): Apparently this move was to keep him playing football during the first part of the season before we lose Toure and Eboue for the ANC. I rate Djourou far ahead of Senderos and I hope he returns in January and shows Wenger that he's better than his Swiss compatriot.
Overall, I'm generally satisfied with the in and outs this summer, but I really feel that we need another striker. Only time will tell.
