Arsenal swoop late to grab Arteta after Spaniard forces Everton’s hand

The Gunners looked to have missed out on Arteta earlier after Everton rejected a bid for their midfielder.

But Arteta reportedly forced the issue and Arsenal reached an agreement with their Premier League rivals before the 11pm deadline, revealing they had signed the 29-year-old on a four-year contract.

The Gunners are said to have initially offered Nicklas Bendtner – who last night joined Sunderland on a season-long loan – in a part-exchange deal, something rejected out of hand by Everton. They also reportedly snubbed a £10 million cash offer until the player himself made his feelings clear.

Arteta’s signing followed that of Yossi Benayoun after the Chelsea midfielder signed a season-long loan deal at the Emirates Stadium. That took Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger’s deadline-day recruits to four after defenders Per Mertesacker and Andre Santos put the finishing touches to their moves.

The signings will help appease fans following one of the club’s worst starts to a season in recent memory, which culminated in Sunday’s 8-2 humiliation at Manchester United.

Arteta and Benayoun are arguably like-for-like replacements in terms of style to the departed Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri.

Israel captain Benayoun tweeted last night before resuming international duty: “I sign with Arsenal, very happy and excited about it, but now my head is only in the game against Greece on Friday. Thanks for the support.”

Wenger earlier began to rebuild his shattered defence after it was confirmed Mertesacker and Santos were joining the club. Germany defender Mertesacker, who has 75 caps and joins from Werder Bremen for a reported £8m, was relishing the challenge. The 26-year-old told the club’s official website: “Moving to London enables me to fulfil a dream and a further step in my career. The Premier League has always represented a great challenge for me.”

Wenger added: “We are delighted to welcome Per Mertesacker to the club. He is a German international with vast experience and strength and is good on the floor and in the air. I believe he will be well-suited to the Premier League and a tremendous asset to the team.”

Santos, 28, cost Arsenal £6.2m from Turkish champions Fenerbahce. The Brazil full-back, who missed out on last year’s World Cup, said: “It was one of my dreams to play for a major European football club and I have accomplished this. I am very happy to be part of this team.

“All the Brazilians who came to this club spoke wonders about it and I am delighted to be part of the Arsenal family.”

Wenger added: “Santos is a quality player, with the ability to both defend well and get forward and help with attacks.

“He has experience in the Champions League and for Brazil and has proven he can deliver at the highest level. We welcome Santos to the club and look forward to him having a big impact for us.”

Wenger was busy in the final days of the transfer window, having brought in South Korea captain Park Chu-young from Monaco.

Arsenal were also linked with a host of midfielders, including Arteta’s former Everton team-mate Marouane Fellaini, Eden Hazard of Lille, CSKA Moscow’s Japan international playmaker Keisuke Honda and Yann M’Vila at Rennes.

A move for Blackburn defender Christopher Samba was also touted after the Gunners cooled their interest in Bolton’s Gary Cahill.