Panic buys can happen far too often for many clubs. As deadlines start to close in and clubs have failed to get the men that they have targeted to try and acquire, another individual might be sought after to try and acquire just in order to plug in a gap.
Arsenal can be accused of doing that in the past with a number of deals, although Mikel Arteta and the men that work with him in the boardroom regarding that side of the operations appear to have managed to get things sorted out so far.
Let’s face it, panicking on anything in life can never guarantee to bring some top results; whether that is from everyday life activities, or if that is to betting. Bettors can avoid some of the panic that can be experienced when trying to find the best bookmakers by using online-betting.org Austria to access a number of the best ones that are available.
Back to Arsenal, and it seems one of their best defenders in recent memory considers himself to be a ‘panic buy’, although the Gunners will have been delighted by what they received from him during the latter stages of his career.
Indeed, Per Mertesacker has revealed that he was a panic buy but had absolutely no problem whatsoever with it. He also detailed how ‘messy and rushed’ the whole process was but would do it again in a heartbeat.
The giant German defender joined the Gunners on 31 August 2011 as the club had the busiest of transfer deadline days with a number of players joining him on the same day to complete switches to the Emirates Stadium.
Along with Mertesacker from Werder Bremen came Mikel Arteta from Everton and Andre Santos from Fenerbahce, while Park Chu-young arrived from Monaco the day before.
Arsenal were forced into delving into the transfer market following their 8-2 defeat to Manchester United three days earlier and looked to strenghten their squad for the rest of the season.
‘I consider myself to be a panic buy. I’ve got no problems with that whatsoever because sometimes these times are rushed,’ Mertesacker told Arsenal’s Lockdown Podcast.
‘Football is rushed, especially when the transfer window is about to close. At that time Arsenal had two or three days to make adjustments to the squad.
‘To join an English team, my favourite English team, and to join the Premier League was something I couldn’t turn down.’
The German explained how the late deal came about and how Arsene Wenger’s command of the German language had played a role in bringing him to the club.
‘I was with the German national team during those last three days and I had to ask Joachim Low if I could go to London and have a quick medical,’ he said.
‘In my medical, I met [Andre] Santos, I became familiar with [Yossi] Benayoun, [Mikel] Arteta and Park [Chu-young] very quickly.
‘It had to be messy, it had to be rushed. I didn’t care. I was just happy that Arsene Wenger called me and spoke to me in German. I couldn’t really believe it.
‘It was so unreal those three days, as I said. To turn down an opportunity like Arsenal Football Club? I would always do it again, in the same format, in the same rush, in the same manner.’
Indeed, Mertesacker became a cult hero for many at the Emirates Stadium as he made over 200 appearances for the Gunners during his playing days. The fact that he still remains around the club following his retirement in a role with the club’s Academy is certainly welcomed, as he will know what it takes to play for the club and help prepare the next generation of youngsters to come through the ranks.
