In a similar vein to Arsenal’s tactical performances, preparation throughout the season has seemed to come at the cost of results.

Despite the early business achieved by Wenger, it wasn’t until late August (after the Liverpool fiasco) that Arsenal’s chief negotiator Dick Law was able to accrue the signatures of Shkrodan Mustafi and Lucas Perez.

Dick Law, like Ed Woodward at Manchester United, has really struggled to establish himself as a strong negotiator.

Over the years, he has been given the run around by several players, neglected to get a number of deals over the line and seemingly failed to find value for money in a number of purchases.

This season’s transfer dealings are a portrait of the club’s failings in microcosm.

Xhaka has been lambasted for being over-priced however, I tend to disagree with pundits on this, given his form and the rare skillset he holds.

The club fruitlessly pursued Jamie Vardy before offering him a position as a squad player, scuppering any potential deal.

The club also failed to act in an efficient manner when pursuing a central defender. With knowledge that Arsenal were drastically short in the centre-back department, they were asked to pay £35million for Mustafi.

Since then the deal has been criticised by journalists, pundits and even Barcelona director Robert Fernandez who dismissed the deal as overpriced.

Where Law maybe redeems himself somewhat is the price and the efficiency of the Rob Holding deal. He is clearly a player whom the club were interested in for a while and with young British players regularly commanding a higher fee than their foreign counterparts, the £2.5million fee for Holding deserves praise.

…Next, scouting…