Saints pull off the coup of the day

Bad day for:

Given the high-profile departures of Robin van Persie and Alex Song, Arsenal fans had a right to expect some excitement on transfer deadline day; but instead all they got was a day of radio silence and a nagging sensation that this could be a tough season. Nicklas Bendtner departed, rumours of a move for Chelsea crock Michael Essien were dismissed; and then Arsenal barely featured in the endless hours of coverage that had fans of other clubs inexplicably unable to take their eyes off Sky Sports News. Unless Arsene Wenger was saving the best for last, it was frustration personified.

It didn’t take a genius to work out that Liverpool’s biggest problem last season was they didn't score enough goals; you only had to be present at one of several goalless draws at Anfield or witness Luis Suarez hitting the post and scraping a succession of efforts wide before the penny dropped. So what do they do on transfer deadline day? Allow £35m man Andy Carroll to leave on loan to West Ham and struggle painfully to bring in a replacement. Stand by for more of the same at Anfield.