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It was the signing of Thomas Partey that grabbed all Arsenal headlines on the last day of the window.
The addition of the Ghana international gives Mikel Arteta the valuable comfort of flexibility as he seeks to continue the rapid progression shown under his leadership.
But that was not the only agreement that was reached when the international window closed on Monday night.
The Gunners picked up two players to their quarry, with the double signing of Joel Ideho and Nikolaj Moller announced Tuesday.
Both will join the Professional Development Phase at Arsenal’s Hale End Academy.
And it is the acquisition of Ideho that has made the news, after the departure of the Ajax winger, a few months after signing for them.
The 17-year-old only completed one move to the Dutch giants in July, but after their reluctance to offer him professional terms, Arsenal made their move.
Ideho, who can play in either wing, was highly rated in Amsterdam, although they wanted to see more of him before they were offered a new deal.
Arsenal reportedly beat Hertha Berlin and Premier League rivals Southampton in their signing, with the youngster claiming their stronger plan ensured they won the race.
“Arsenal had a stronger and better plan for me than the other clubs and personally I think I will develop better at Arsenal than the other clubs,” he told All Nigeria Soccer.
And when asked who he would compare himself to, the new Arsenal winger cited long-term goal Wilfried Zaha.
Ironically, the Gunners were linked with Zaha for much of the window, before signing a player who models himself after the talisman of Crystal Palace.
He added: “I’d say my game is inspired by Wilfried Zaha from Crystal Palace because he’s a creative player with a fast pace.
“My strengths would be my rhythm and my actions one on one.”
Ideho now hopes to impress Arsenal’s academy director Per Mertesacker and become the latest in a long line of talented youngsters to make the Arteta first team.
Players like Joe Willock, Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka have been offered significant playing time with the Spaniard, and Mertesacker admits that he loves to give Arsenal’s boss picks dilemmas.
“We are very interested in giving Mikel Arteta a lot of headaches, you know,” Mertesacker said earlier this year.
“He must be thinking, ‘What’s going on at the academy?’ Every year there are two or three potential players who can enter that court.
“But I know their standards, I know what they represent, so I need to prepare the players very well so that when they enter the first team environment they are ready and prepared.”
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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