With the disruption of the international break over, Premier League clubs will be looking for their late additions to make an instant impact this weekend.
Arsenal have pinned their hopes on record-signing Mesut Ozil, the only transfer fee paid out by the club in the recent market window. The Germany playmaker is in line to make his debut at Sunderland on Saturday after joining from Real Madrid for 50 million euros ($67 million) recently.
After a losing start, Arsenal responded with back-to-back wins, and Ozil’s arrival has further improved the mood at the Emirates Stadium. “It is a statement to what the club want to do and what the club want to achieve,” Arsenal defender Kieran Gibbs said.
“It is something that everyone has been waiting for so now we have a big signing to help push us to the next level. He has got a clinical side to him and technically he is world-class. He is going to create a lot of problems for the opposition.”
Manchester United had talked of making several additions to their Premier League title-winning squad. However, new manager David Moyes’ only major summer recruitment was Marouane Fellaini from former club Everton on deadline-day for £27.5 million ($43 million).
The Belgium midfielder joined after Moyes failed to land his first-choice targets. “It is a big step for me,” Fellaini said.
“But I have played five years in England, I know the league and I know the players so I don’t think I will have a problem with this move.”
He arrives at a team that have endured a patchy start to the season. They started on a high with a win at Swansea, but a drab draw against Chelsea and a loss at Liverpool soon followed.