LONDON - Arsene Wenger embarked on a last-ditch spending spree on transfer deadline day as the under-pressure Arsenal boss signed Mikel Arteta, Andre Santos, Per Mertesacker and Yossi Benayoun, while Manchester City completed its shock swoop for injury-plagued midfielder Owen Hargreaves.

Wenger has been feeling the heat since his side's humiliating 8-2 defeat at Manchester United on Sunday, and he reacted by splashing out around ??24 million on a quartet of new faces on Wednesday.

He paid ??10 million for Everton midfielder Arteta in an attempt to fill the void left by Cesc Fabregas's move to Barcelona.

The Frenchman also landed Brazilian full-back Santos from Fenerbahce for ??6.2 million and Werder Bremen centerback Mertesacker for around ??8 million as he tries to shore up his leaky defense.

Chelsea midfielder Benayoun was Wenger's other signing, arriving on loan for the rest of the season - effectively to replace Samir Nasri after he joined Manchester City - while Danish striker Nicklas Bendtner left Arsenal for a loan spell at Sunderland.

Meanwhile, City took a gamble on Hargreaves, released by local rival Manchester United at the end of last season after the champion rejected his offer to play for free following a miserable four-year spell at Old Trafford.

The former England star suffered a series of knee injuries following his move to United from Bayern Munich in 2007 and spent much of the close-season trying to convince potential employers he was still capable of playing.

City believes Hargreaves is completely recovered from his knee operations and it puts the finishing touches to the one-year contract after the 30-year-old passed an extensive medical over the last 24 hours.

Elsewhere, Tottenham signed England midfielder Scott Parker from West Ham in a deal believed to be worth ??6 million.

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 09/02/2011 page22)