Arsenal completed the double signings of Lucas Perez and Shkodran Mustafi and both players sent the "let's get our aggression on" message, which would have delighted the fans, who have been craving for a few players with a bit of moxie to come in.
With Granit Xhaka, another one who likes a tackle or four, signing this summer as well, Arsene Wenger has brought a bit of fight to add to the obvious talent in the squad, and time will tell if that makes a difference as far as the results are concerned.
Wenger will certainly hope so, having spent around £50 million to get the two players in. Add the £30-£35 million that Arsenal reportedly paid to Borussia Monchengladbach for the signature of Xhaka – a similar amount has been offered to Valencia as well for Mustafi – Arsenal have certainly not kept those cheque books in the locker, like they usually do, in this transfer window.
The Mustafi signing was a long and protracted one, with Arsenal linked with a move for the Germany international for quite a few weeks, before a transfer fee with Valencia was finally agreed. Mustafi revealed there were a few hairy moments in there during the transfer process, while admitting he is happy to finally become an Arsenal player.
"I saw a lot of pictures going around on Twitter, on Instagram and on Facebook," Mustafi told Arsenal's official website. "Some of them made me laugh as well. I know that for people who watch football and live football, waiting for new signings isn't easy sometimes.
"All the signings know there are a lot of things going on in the transfer, so you have to make sure you do everything good to have a good start. That's what we did. We tried to take our time, do everything the best way you can do it and then start this episode here correctly."
A bit of aggression and calmness on the ball is what Mustafi will bring, according to the centre-back himself. "Right now I would say that I'm quite an aggressive player," the Germany international added. "I go into everything, that's what I learnt in England.
"But on the other side, I'm quite tactical. I try to read the game, like you do in Italy. With the ball, I try to play out and enjoy having the ball, not just giving it away as soon as you get it."
Aggression is a key word for Lucas Perez – known in Spain as just Lucas – as well, with many comparing the striker to Jamie Vardy, who snubbed a move to Arsenal earlier in the transfer window. Like Vardy, Lucas had a breakout season last time out, scoring 17 goals in La Liga. While he is a bit more creative than Vardy, who is more of a pure goalscorer, the Spaniard brings a bit of that terrier-quality to this Arsenal team, which will go down well with Alexis Sanchez.
"I'm really excited," Lucas, who cost Arsenal £17m, said. "I want to show what I'm about, get stuck into playing and perform well.
"I think I'm a pacy player. I like to link up and combine with my teammates, playing one-twos to work a shot. I don't want to put myself in a box, I hope that the Arsenal fans can see for themselves and enjoy watching me."
