Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Mikel Arteta from Everton just minutes before the transfer window slammed shut. The Spanish midfielder has completed a move for a fee believed to be in the region of £10 million – Arteta has signed a four-year deal for the North London club.
The transfer looks to be the most significant of a busy transfer deadline day for Fantasy managers. Arteta brings his undoubted playmaking abilities to the Emirates, alongside tonight’s loan signing of Yossi Benayoun from Chelsea, as Arsene Wenger swoops to compensate for the departure of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri. In Fantasy terms, Arteta represents a potential bargain – a cut-price route to Arsenal’s attacking potential prior to a run of favourable fixtures.
The deal for Arteta looked to have stalled earlier this evening with Everton believed to have rejected a proposed bid that included a Nicklas Bendtner plus cash deal. An hour later however, it was reported that Arsenal had returned with a straight cash offer after Arteta had requested to leave Goodison.
Arsenal were able to complete the deal before the deadline and now, presumably, Arteta will join up with his new team-mates ahead of the Emirates clash with Swansea a week on Saturday.
Arteta will attract immediate Fantasy interest. His passing ability and set-piece influence offers Wenger an added dimension in a midfield that has been robbed of key talent and, at just 8.0 in the Fantasy Premier League game, he looks a sound investment.
The Spaniard’s fitness will be a slight worry – like Robin Van Persie, Arteta is a talent that has been cursed by a string of injuries which have curtailed his Fantasy returns in recent seasons. Even so, in the mid-term, Arteta’s price and potential looks set to outweigh that concern, particularly as the Gunners ready themselves for a run of opponents which promises rich attacking returns with four home matches in the next six (SWA bla BOL tot SUN STK).
Arteta would seem set to take up a central role playing alongside a holding midfielder, or even in front of a Song/Wilshere combination, prompting and probing and offering a goal threat from range. Set-pieces are also in his locker and there is a chance, with Van Persie missing from the spot at Old Trafford, that Arteta could even be handed penalty kick duties.
Back at Goodison meanwhile, David Moyes is left with a squad that has seen Arteta, Jermaine Beckford and Yakubu depart today. The loss of the Spanish playmaker will come as a hammer blow to Everton’s ambitions this season.
For Fantasy managers, the departure of Arteta will restore Leighton Baines as the club’s spot-kick taker and land him responsibility for direct free-kicks. The left-back appeared to have surrendered those duties on Arteta’s return to the starting lineup at Blackburn last weekend, but will now have his return potential boosted accordingly.
