Following a transfer window of stalling and dithering in the summer of 2011, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger suddenly found himself with a big chunk of Cesc Fabregas shaped change; seemingly burning a hole in his pocket.
The problem? With the Fabregas deal going through well into August, the Gunners had less than two weeks to splash the cash and as time ticked on, fans began to wonder whether they’d be any arrivals at all at the Emirates.
When a player is signed right at the end of a transfer window, as Andre Santos’ €7million arrival from Fenerbahçe it usually means either a club has finally secured their number one target after months of negotiations, or that they’ve moved into bargain bucket territory after getting knocked back from their first choice targets. Santos falls into the latter.
He’s never seemed a particularly good fit at the Emirates and his inherent ability to play football is far outweighed by his lack of defensive ability. A slight problem as a defender. Despite, injury, Santos has made only 17 appearances since his switch and he is far more famous for his Transporter impression behind the wheel than for his footballing ability. A true panic buy.
