Arsenal have been the Premier League’s nearly men of late but made their intentions clear to change that narrative with spectacular splashes of their own this summer.
These included, at last, the arrival of a recognised striker in £64m Viktor Gyokores from Sporting in Portugal, plus midfielder Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad for £60m. Then, in a stunning coup, they snatched England international Eberechi Eze as he looked poised to complete a £60m switch from Crystal Palace to Tottenham.
The pressure on Mikel Arteta to break a barren sequence of five years without silverware is now huge. There are no excuses. He must succeed.
It was ominous, however, that Arteta took a cautious approach on Sunday against a Liverpool team who had looked vulnerable during previous wins. The result was another Anfield defeat – leaving the Gunners without a league win there since 2012.
The old doubts could have been banished with a statement result. Arsenal, instead, were too passive.
Manchester City responded powerfully to a poor campaign last time out with a stellar signing to close the window, capturing Paris St-Germain’s Champions League-winning goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
It is tough on James Trafford, who joined City despite lengthy interest from Newcastle United, in the hope of challenging Ederson, only to now be displaced by a superstar.
City also brought in Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan and Rayan Cherki from Lyon – but a stuttering start to the season, with defeats by Spurs and Brighton, suggest some of the flaws that undermined them last season remain.
Manager Pep Guardiola will look to Donnarumma, a hugely significant signing, to provide some much-needed stability.
Chelsea’s revolving door has continued to spin this summer with a flurry of arrivals and departures, but Enzo Maresca still does not have a squad that look capable of challenging for the title, despite their Club World Cup victory.
Joao Pedro brings serious quality in attack after a £60m move from Brighton, while Alejandro Garnacho has a point to prove following his acrimonious £40m exit from Manchester United, but Chelsea have a top-four look rather than a title sheen.
Elsewhere, Newcastle United have been in the headlines almost every day this summer as a result of Isak’s one-man rebellion, the club’s owners finally capitulating to his wishes and lowering their long-touted £150m price tag to pack him off to Anfield.
Manager Eddie Howe has made some smart acquisitions with a new-look attack of Nick Woltemade, signed in a club record deal worth £69m from Stuttgart, and Yoane Wissa, who also had a rebellion of his own before getting a £55m move from Brentford.
These are Newcastle’s wins, along with the £40m deal to bring Jacob Ramsey from Aston Villa and winger Anthony Elanga’s £55m switch from Nottingham Forest.
Howe, however, has suffered a huge loss in match-winner Isak, whose late departure also had a knock-on impact with Newcastle stumping up £55m for Wissa, after starting the bidding at £25m earlier in the summer.
Spurs suffered disappointment when a deal for Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White broke down before Arsenal snatched away Eze, but manager Thomas Frank still has strong new attacking resources in Mohammed Kudus and Xavi Simons, with PSG’s France striker Randal Kolo Muani, who had been on loan with Juventus, arriving before the deadline.
When the dust has settled, however, Liverpool’s remarkable window still leaves them as the team to chase.
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