London’s three biggest clubs were all busy splashing the cash on deadline day as a hectic 24 hours saw Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham bolster their ranks with attacking investments.
The Gunners drafted in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund for a club-record fee of £56million while Chelsea took advantage o to snap up Olivier Giroud for a relatively modest £18m.
Brazilian winger Lucas Moura also sealed a switch to the capital with Spurs paying £25m for the former Paris Saint-Germain star. Sportsmail takes a look at where the trio fit into their new club’s respective line-ups.
Arsenal (4-2-2-2)
Aubameyang will undoubtedly go straight into Arsenal’s front line as he bids to save their fading hopes of finishing in the top four. His goal record is undeniable having scored 141 times in 212 appearances for Dortmund, which included 98 goals in 144 Bundesliga games.
In order to accommodate the Gabonese forward, Arsene Wenger will have to be bold. He either drops Alexandre Lacazette, who only arrived at the Emirates last summer for £53m, or plays the Frenchman alongside Aubameyang in a narrow 4-2-2- 2 formation.
Aubameyang’s goal record is undeniable having scored 141 times in 212 games for Dortmund
Wenger has tinkered with his system recently, sometimes opting to use three central defenders, but has returned to a traditional back four since suffering defeat at Bournemouth last month.
Tuesday night’s loss at Swansea suggests Arsenal may be better served trying to outscore their opposition after more questions of their defensive capabilities were raised. If Wenger decides to play the two forwards together, then Mesut Ozil and the recently signed Henrikh Mkhitaryan could provide support from behind.
Granit Xhaka and Jack Wilshere would continue as the central midfield pairing, emphasizing the need to add a holding midfielder in the summer, with the back five of Petr Cech, Hector Bellerin, Shkodran Mustafi, Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal.
Chelsea (3-4-2-1)
Alvaro Morata finally seems to have an able deputy. While Michy Batshuayi’s goalscoring record at Stamford Bridge was not to be sniffed at, the Belgian failed to find his way into Antonio Conte’s heart and was sent out on loan to Dortmund as Aubameyang’s replacement.
The deal for Giroud brought an end to Chelsea’s frantic search for a striker in January, with the club chasing Roma’s Edin Dzeko, Andy Carroll from West Ham, and even 37-year-old Stoke star Peter Crouch.
The deal for the Frenchman brought an end to Chelsea’s frantic search for a striker in January
Conte is an admirer of the 3-4-2-1 system that has brought him success at Chelsea and it is pretty obvious how they would line up with Giroud in the team. The Frenchman is a proven Premier League goalscorer, notching 73 times in 180 league appearances in England.
Signing Giroud will also allow Eden Hazard to be relieved of his centre forward duties in Morata’s absence and allow the Belgian to drop into his preferred deeper role where he can be so devastating. The other place behind Giroud could be taken by any of Pedro, Ross Barkley or Willian as Conte aims to find the perfect balance in supporting the Frenchman.
The rest of Chelsea’s team remains intact with Thibaut Courtois in goal and Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger in front of him. Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso remain first choice wing-backs with N’Golo Kante and Tiemoue Bakayoko occupying central midfield.
Tottenham (4-3-3)
As Tottenham swept forward and struck inside 11 seconds against Manchester United on Wednesday night Moura, watching on from the stands at Wembley, probably wondered where he would fit in.
The Brazilian was deemed surplus to requirements at PSG after failing to start a game all season and appearing just six times off the bench. However, he did manage an impressive tally of 16 goals and seven assists during the previous campaign.
Spurs could now re-enact Pep Guardiola’s deadly 4-3-3 system with Moura on the right wing
Spurs have managed to add an out-and-out winger to their deadly front line and the Brazilian gives Mauricio Pochettino’s side even more attacking prowess. Son Heung-min has been one of Spurs’ stand-out players so far this campaign but Moura’s arrival does not mean the South Korean has to miss out.
Manchester City are the perfect example of how to strike a balance between attack and defence this season and Spurs could now re-enact Pep Guardiola’s deadly take on the 4-3-3 system. Eric Dier would slot into Fernandinho’s role as a defensive shield in front of the back line with Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli given freedom to dictate the game just as Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva do at the Etihad.
This would allow Moura to operate on the right wing while Son continues on the left, with star man Harry Kane on his own through the middle. Hugo Lloris, Serge Aurier, Davinson Sanchez, Jan Vertonghen and Ben Davies would make up the back five in this potentially explosive system.