I'm not sure what was more surprising - Wenger signing a player for a lot of money, Wenger signing a player that isn't under 21 and French, or Blues spending any money whatsoever. Mesut Özil went from a world class midfielder to 'the best midfielder in the world' in the eyes of Arsenal fans, by signing for Arsenal in a deal worth £42million. A substantial amount for any club, but for Arsenal this deal is huge. They rarely spend so much on one player. This deal makes Turkish-born Özil the most expensive German player ever. However, Özil wasn't the most expensive transfer of the window, with a certain Gareth Bale moving for over £80million in the most expensive and least surprising transfer of all time.
Wayne Rooney eventually stayed at Manchester United, as they only made one signing in afro-wielding giant Marouane Fellaini, to add steel to United's otherwise powder-puff midfield. Moyes in the end overpaid for Fellaini, allowing his £23million release clause, that he himself put in, to run out before panicking and paying £27m for the Belgian midfielder.
In another extremely boring saga, with an equally boring resolution, Luis Suarez stayed at Liverpool. Despite telling the whole world he wanted to leave, Liverpool rejected the £40,000,001 bid from Arsenal, in one of the more bizarre moments of the transfer window. Liverpool brought in 3 players themselves; two centre-backs in Mamadou Sakho and Tiago Ilori, with Victor Moses coming in on loan.
In fitting with their joga bonito pure football style, Aston Villa signed another huge striker. 6'3 Libor Kozak signed for £7m, bringing with him a prolific record. 10 goals in 58 appearances shows his worth. Speaking of pure football, Stoke signed a 6'4 winger to add much-needed height to their team. Marko Arnautovic, or Arrogantovic to some Bremen fans, signed for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £2m. A talented footballer with clear attitude problem, could be a clever move on Stoke's part, or could be a complete waste of £2m.
West Brom added two forward players to their team, in Benin attacking midfielder Stephane Sessegnon and the imposing figure of Victor Anichebe. Luckily for Sunderland, they quickly replaced Sessegnon's flair and creativity like for like, by bringing in prolific forward Fabio Borini on loan. Hull saw their last minute deal for Shane Long fall through, as Long realised that he really didn't want to live in Hull, (or because it didn't go through in time, not sure which one) leaving West Brom with another striker. They did however offload Peter Odemwingie to Cardiff for an undisclosed fee, in surprisingly mundane fashion.
Everton brought in dynamic midfielder Gareth Barry on loan, to replace the energy that Fellaini provided in the midfield. They also spent around £14m on James McCarthy, in possibly the most overpriced deal of the window. Finally, they brought in young striker Romelu Lukaku on loan, to fill the huge gap left by Anichebe.
In the most surprising deal of the window, Birmingham City actually spent some money on a real player. Paul Caddis comes in for £150k to fill the right back slot, as it seems Eardley is suffering from a lack of ability and will be out for the season.
That rounds up most of the important deals, of another transfer window.
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