Former Premier League striker Stan Collymore has claimed that Tottenham Hotspur have had a more productive summer transfer window than Arsenal.
The window slammed shut for English clubs at 5 pm last Thursday which represented the last opportunity for them to recruit any new additions to their squad until January 1st.
Tottenham smashed their club record fee with the arrival of Tanguy Ndombele from Lyon whilst also recruiting Giovani Lo Celso, Ryan Sessegnon and Jack Clarke.
North London rivals Arsenal were also active in the market having splashed out on Nicolas Pepe, William Saliba, Kieran Tierney, David Luiz, Gabriel Martinelli and also bringing Real Madrid’s Dani Ceballos on loan.
Collymore was particularly impressed with Tottenham’s capture of Giovani Lo Celso, with the Argentina international having joined on a season-long loan from Real Betis with the option to make the deal permanent.
The former Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest striker was also critical of Arsenal’s signature of David Luiz from Chelsea.
“It feels they’ve taken two steps forward and one back with a deal for Luiz that’s lazy, clichéd recruitment lacking in any imagination,” Collymore told The Mirror.
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“It smacks of sloppy seconds and it’s not a good look for the Gunners – I thought Unai Emery and Arsenal were better than that.
“He’s often been labelled a liability at Chelsea – and Arsenal have enough defenders with that curse.
“I just can’t see Arsenal wanting to build a defence with Luiz at its core and it looks to me like a last-minute deal because there were no other options.
“It’s such a shame because, until that point, I’d been impressed with their transfer business under Emery.”
“Overall, it feels like Tottenham have stolen a march on Arsenal again this summer, confirming the club as the pre-eminent force in North London,” he added.
“Everything about Tottenham is smart these days – from their new stadium, manager Mauricio Pochettino, chairman Daniel Levy and their recruitment policy.
“But the one that’s really caught my eye is Tottenham’s capture of Giovani Lo Celso on loan from Real Betis.
“I’ve watched a fair bit of the Argentinian winger and I think he’ll could be a game-changer for Spurs once he settles in.”
“He’s a great ball carrier, can play any of the front positions, picks it up deep and has great spacial awareness,” Collymore continued.
“He’s been a real quality player for Betis in La Liga – mobile, hungry and, with Dele Alli, Tanguy Ndombele and Eric Dier around him, it’ll give him licence to do some damage.
“I’m excited to see the impact he makes at Spurs because he has the ability to be whatever he wants to be.”
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