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They finally got their man and finished the window looking much stronger.

Arsenal got a terrific deal done on Danny Welbeck because he is young, English, has got pace and power and, at £16m, looks a very good signing.

What is even more impressive is the speed with which The Gunners responded to the situation on transfer deadline. They did have a striker crisis after Olivier Giroud’s injury - and they quickly solved it.

The Welbeck deal only happened because Manchester United got Radamel Falcao. And the truth is that United didn’t want to sell to Arsenal, so to get it done is a big achievement.

Arsene Wenger is a long term admirer. You can see why because, as with a few Wenger signings, there’s some untapped potential, a player who now has a platform to prove all of his qualities on the big stage.

Welbeck is often mistakenly dismissed as a wasteful finisher. 20 goals in 53 starts in the Premier League suggests otherwise.

He’s quick, can dribble and clearly, more than anything else, wants a run of games to build his confidence and belief.

He also wants to play through the middle more despite proving himself - particularly for England - to be a very effective and hard working wide player. He was one of the bright spots for England at the World Cup.

Arsenal asked about Welbeck last week but United made it plain they did not want to sell to a direct rival. They tried to push him towards Sunderland and were even prepared to do it on loan with a loan fee of around £2m.

Tottenham were also keen but they needed to get players out, chairman Daniel Levy can be difficult to deal with and they also felt he wanted to go to Arsenal.

(Image: Getty)

So, from a position in the morning when Arsenal felt it was highly unlikely no deals would get done, they moved quickly and made a new approach for Welbeck.

Welbeck was at Arsenal’s training ground at London Colney but for England training and was at least nearby in the team hotel in Watford in the afternoon. He was quickly on hand, not that medicals are generally done at the training ground.

United didn’t want to do it and, right up until 9pm, were making life difficult for Arsenal and it was only around then that they thought the deal had a good chance. It was unclear whether it would be a loan or permanent but £16m suited both parties.

Selling a youth player to replace him with a superstar on a crazy contract would surely have left Fergie wondering what had become of his club.

Now Welbeck has the chance to show United what they are missing and maybe it can be payback time for Arsenal after selling Robin van Persie two years ago.

Welbeck has the chance to play through the middle while Giroud is out and is a better option right now than Yaya Sanogo and Joel Campbell who need time to develop and grow rather than be thrust in straight away.

Arsenal also have options and strength up front with Theo Walcott to come back, Alexis Sanchez is going to be a brilliant signing for Wenger and, of course, Giroud when fit again.

But the point is that Arsenal reacted to the striker crisis and moved quickly. Anyone who saw the game at Leicester, knew Arsenal needed a striker. What’s the point in building a team if there’s no-one to provide the finishing touch? Similarly, while Giroud’s injury was bad luck, a strong squad would have cover. Arsenal didn’t.

With Wenger in Rome for a charity match, the deal was got over the line by chief executive Ivan Gazidis and Arsenal’s transfer fixer Dick Law. The accusation aimed at Wenger often is that he hesitates and yet Arsenal were quick and decisive on Welbeck.

Arsenal, in my view, are still a centre half light. They started the summer with Wenger realising he would need a replacement for Thomas Vermaelen as back-up for Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny.

The emergence of Calum Chambers, however, made Wenger think he would rather sign a fourth choice centre back rather than a third choice as Chambers would then find his path blocked.

Games and Goals 2012-14 72 games 28 Goals 54 games 10 Goals

That doesn't make much sense to me. Surely you need to sign the best player you possibly can. But I can see that they didn't want to spend £15m on a squad player.

They did look at defenders and tried on a couple. But without getting one in, they are left with Chambers as the only back-up while Koscielny is nursing an Achilles problem. That is a major area of concern.

But overall, Arsenal are stronger. The dressing room did want new signings too and Welbeck will lift the other players. Add that to Sanchez, Chambers, David Ospina and Mathieu Debuchy (an upgrade on Bacary Sagna because of age) and it’s been a hugely successful window

That owes much to the Arsenal board for backing Wenger. Wenger for working his socks off in Brazil to get deals done during the World Cup and the right people behind the scenes pushing him to make signings and really going for it.

It’s been an excellent window for Arsenal. They can go from strength to strength now.

READ MORE: Follow all the deadline day fallout in our live blog

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