According to football pundit Paul Merson, Arsenal missed out on a trick by not signing former Everton man Gareth Barry.
The 36-year-old left Goodison Park for West Brom mid last week after the Baggies signed him on a one-year deal.
Merson, an ex Gunners and English international believes the north London heavyweights would have benefited a lot from signing Barry, though.
He told Sky Bet: “[Gareth Barry is] a great signing [for West Brom]. Why didn’t Arsenal take him for a year?
“He gets the ball, he moves it forward quickly, he doesn’t mess about. He gets the ball, he gives it Ozil, he gives it to Sanchez.
“He’s never going to go anywhere, he’ll stay where he is. He keeps his shape. I think it’s an unbelievable signing for West Brom.
Despite edging nearer to retirement each passing day, Everton still considered Barry a valuable member of their squad until his exit.
However, following a couple of summer recruitments to their midfield, the former Aston Villa man was bound to see a sharp drop in his playing minutes had he chosen to stay.
West Brom, though, are willing to make him a key part of their first-team, and he was allowed to leave for an undisclosed fees by the Toffees.
Barry spent 4 seasons at Everton, making 131 Premier League appearances and emerging as the Player of the Season last term.
He is currently on 628 league appearances, and is 5 games away from beating Ryan Gigg to number 1 on the topflight all-time appearances list.
Fortunately for West Brom, he would be setting the enviable record in their shirt, while they would also hope he helps them retain a top 10 finish this term.
