If Gunners carry on flopping... it's not down to shopping

BERTA WON TRANSFER WINDOW FOR ARTETA

- BY RYAN TAYLOR

ARSENAL are in for a stellar season if they can perform as well as Andrea Berta did in the transfer market.

As the disappointment of yet another second-place Premier League finish and frustrating Champions League semifinal exit at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain began to subside in May, club sources made no secret of the fact it would be a busy summer at the Emirates.

But few, besides ambitious sporting director Berta, would have envisaged EIGHT glistening new arrivals.

Where net-spend figures are concerned, no topflight club splashed more cash than Arsenal's club-record £257million.

The numbers are reflective of unwavering faith in Mikel Arteta from both the Kroenke family and the club's board of directors.

But it also means there is now almost no margin for error this term.