Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu spent the transfer window chasing targets, particularly midfielders Thomas Partey from Atletico Madrid and Houssem Aouar from Lyon.
Problems occurred on both fronts but Arteta will be glad to have landed at least one of his major transfer targets.
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Problems with Lyon
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With the window closing, bids were submitted for Aouar but were knocked back by chairman Jean-Michel Aulas, who was waiting on €55m for the creative midfielder, a fee Arsenal weren't willing to pay.
Lyon looked to need to sell players to balance the books and were hoping to see Jeff-Reine Adelaide depart in a €26m deal to Hertha Berlin and Memphis Depay go to Barcelona for €25m, neither deal materialised and a deal to bring Aouar in was too late so the Gunners turned their full attention elsewhere.
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Attention turned to Partey
In what ended up being a transfer which would breakdown the relationship between Atletico and Arsenal, the Gunners went all out to make sure they landed Partey.
The deal was left until the last few hours on deadline day as Arsenal activated Partey's release clause of €50m to La Liga but did not correspond this with Atletico as this is not in the laws.
The midfielder would sign a four-year-deal worth £260k a week according to the Daily Star, making him one of Arsenal's highest earners.
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Where does he fit in?
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The Ghanaian midfielder will look to slot straight into the midfield and become the 'destroyer' that the Gunners have been missing since the days of Patrick Vieira.
This may well see him take the place of Swiss international Granit Xhaka who plays in a similar role although Arteta may be tempted to play them together and give Xhaka more license to roam forward.
The seemingly ideal combination in the midfield would look to be Partey's destructiveness combined with Dani Ceballos' composure and finesse, giving Arsenal much needed balance in midfield.