Arsenal transfer news: 27 players Arsene Wenger missed out on in their failed summer

Many of these were unrealistic - but Arsenal failed to add a single outfield player to their first-team squad this summer

Karim Benzema posted this picture to Instagram with the caption: 'Come back to Madrid #work' (instagram.com/karimbenzema)

In a long summer between seasons, transfer rumours are bandied about with frequently reckless abandon.

Various agendas are at work; some players and clubs are genuinely looking to make moves but there are also fat new contracts for agents and players to force their current clubs into signing, while newspaper inches need to be filled and online targets need to be met.

In short, Arsenal were linked with dozens of players this summer and only a handful of them will have been realistic targets for long-time manager Arsene Wenger.

PSG wanted £50m for Edinson Cavani (GETTY IMAGES)

But where's the fun in looking at the legitimate targets?

In a summer of record spending by Premier League clubs - an estimated £870million was spent not including add-ons - Arsenal spent a miserable £13m, more than just two other clubs and failed to buy a single outfield player for their first-team (the only club in the top leagues in England, Italy, Spain, Germany and France).

Arsenal seemingly always seem a step away from real contention if only they had a a top class goalkeeper, centre-back, defensive midfielder and striker.

Arsene Wenger has again been criticised for failing to spend (Getty Images)

They filled one of those needs very early on with the (excellent) addition of Petr Cech from rivals Chelsea right at the start of the summer that sent fans and pundits into a frenzy.

Unfortunately, that was the only move that ended up being made when the window shut on Monday evening. We've looked back at some of the other players Arsenal were linked with this summer...

Who should Arsenal have signed? Let us know in the comments section below