As another English Premier League transfer window slams shut, fans are trying to decipher the business of their clubs and assess who won and who lost in a January that saw a lot of big names changing clubs and significant business done by the current top six. Deloitte Southeast Asia’s analyst James Walton delivers the early verdict on the merry-go-round.

#1 WINNER: ARSENAL

If you had offered Arsenal fans Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and, to a lesser extent, Henrikh Mkhitaryan at the start of the window, they would have bitten your hand off. Alexandre Lacazette has been underperforming, Tomas Rosicky has just retired and Olivier Giroud was clearly not trusted.

Aubameyang brings serious speed and clinical finishing to the attack – he is the “fox in the box” that Francis Jeffers never was – and Mkhitaryan is the very definition of an Arsene Wenger player, and Gunners fans will hope he rediscovers his Borussia Dortmund form.

The icing on the cake was Mesut Ozil signing a new contract, and Arsenal fans are now dreaming of unleashing an attack featuring him and the Armenian wizard supplying balls to Lacazette and Aubameyang.

#1 LOSER: ARSENAL

So, you have finally hammered out a contract with your best midfielder and signed two big name players, one of them a potential superstar striker for a club record fee. What’s not to like? Well, for many Arsenal fans the answer is that the club did not address glaring weaknesses and has managed to strengthen key rivals at the same time.

If you had told Arsenal fans at the start of the window that their only defensive signing would be Konstantinos Mavropanos, they would have demanded “Wenger Out” even louder and bemoaned this continual blind spot. As Petr Cech seems to be losing his powers – even aside from his blunder at Swansea – Wojciech Szczesny has emerged as the Juventus No 1, and a backline of Calum Chambers, Rob Holding, Per Mertesacker and Shkodran Mustafi, with Granit Xhaka and Jack Wilshere in front is simply not going to keep out the goals.

On top of that, Arsenal fans had to watch their talisman Alexis Sanchez stroll over to hated rivals Manchester United, and while they have mixed feelings on Giroud, they will not be happy if he starts scoring consistently for Chelsea.

The loss of Theo Walcott, Francis Coquelin, Mathieu Debuchy, Sanchez, Giroud and Rosicky – coming on top of the departure of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at the end of the last window – has left the squad dangerously thin.

#2 WINNER: MESUT OZIL

£350,000 per week, after taxes, according to well-placed sources. It is amazing how losing one of your two superstars can refocus your appetite for the other. For a player who was clearly not going to earn that kind of money anywhere else, he may be the one who does the best out of Sanchez’s departure, at least in his pocket.

#2 LOSER: RIYAD MAHREZ

Every window he tries to manoeuvre his way out, and every window Leicester price him out of a move – this time apparently at £95 million. His statement, apparently issued via a friend, stating that this is the fourth consecutive window the club have told him they will allow him to leave and then gone back on their word, suggests an unhappy player seeing out the season. He will be hoping that a good World Cup performance convinces suitors to stump up the money to get him into a competitive team.

#3 WINNER: MANCHESTER UNITED

When you keep all your players and get to add a world-class, proven performer like Sanchez for a decent fee – and spite your neighbours in doing so – you have got to be happy. With Juan Mata signing a new contract, it has been a good window for Jose Mourinho who got his own extension in January too.

JURY’S OUT: CHELSEA, TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR, LIVERPOOL

Three of the chasing pack, fighting for the Champions League places, and they all had mixed windows.

Antonio Conte clearly wanted more reinforcements than he got with only Giroud, Ross Barkley and Emerson Palmieri coming into a team that has been erratic lately and seems completely reliant on Eden Hazard. Giroud is a good option as a back-up and offers something different, but can he really compete for a starting spot with Alvaro Morata when he was not good enough to start for Arsenal? Ross Barkley is the ultimate “jury’s out” player and the next few months will be key for him after an inauspicious debut showed his rustiness. Palmieri at least will provide some competition for Marcos Alonso. All this window has done though is to show that Conte’s position seems to be getting more and more delicate and the odds on him leaving in the summer seem to be shortening.

Tottenham held onto all their major players and potentially picked up one of the bargains of the window, with Lucas Moura perhaps finally providing a good bench option to change the game, something they have been severely lacking. He is also available for their Champions League squad as an added bonus. But that said, there are still concerns over the depth of the squad and Llorente as Harry Kane’s back-up. There is always the feeling that they are only one major injury to Kane or Christian Eriksen away from tailing off. The welcome return of Toby Alderweireld, Victor Wanyama and Erik Lamela to the squad may bring new impetus and they ended the window in style with a humbling of Manchester United. February will be make-or-break for them with games still to come against Liverpool and Arsenal, and their Champions League and FA Cup hopes on the line.

Liverpool had the ultimate mixed window. They paid a world record fee for a defender to secure Virgil van Dijk, but lost their star playmaker in Philippe Coutinho without a replacement. A win over Man City had Liverpool fans crowing that he would not be missed, and talking of a late title challenge, but subsequent defeats to Swansea and West Brom in the FA Cup have tempered that excitement. One player alone will not fix their problems – a goalkeeper and a few more defensive reinforcements are needed to back up their spectacular attack.

#4 WINNER: MANCHESTER CITY

They may not have got Mahrez, and injuries to Gabriel Jesus and David Silva will test their fortitude, but they have emerged from the window 15 points clear and with defensive reinforcements in the form of Aymeric Laporte who will slot in alongside John Stones and give cover at left-back. While everyone else is focused on the window, they quietly went about their business and kept winning games – Liverpool aside – and they seem uncatchable now.

#4 LOSER: NEWCASTLE, WEST HAM

Two teams that aspire to much more, but are currently feeling very short-changed by their owners.

Newcastle fans continue to despair as Mike Ashley once again did not inspire in the transfer market. You can tell how desperate things have gotten when loaning Islam Slimani is akin to a glimmer of hope. This is a very inconsistent team that has seen Leicester, Everton, Crystal Palace, Swansea and others pick up the pace in recent weeks and will be nervously looking over their shoulder as West Brom, Stoke, Brighton and Southampton do their transfer business. On paper, they have the manager and squad to survive, but you never know.

West Ham fans were calling out for a striker, having seen Diafra Sakho and Andre Ayew leave, with only a last minute deal for Jordan Hugill, a 25 year-old from Preston North End with a goal record of 10 in 29 appearances in the Championship this season, to replace them. Again, the recent pick-up under David Moyes should see them safe this year, but the fans are not happy as their move to London Stadium has not proved to be the renaissance it was portrayed to be.

THE ULTIMATE WINNERS: THE AGENTS

The EPL’s single season spend record was broken again – although mainly due to the huge business of the Summer window – and agents all over Europe are once again thanking the TV companies for their windfall. The next TV deal for 2019-2022 is in process with an increased number of games and a feeling that digital giants like Amazon, Facebook and Netflix may shake up the market as the EPL seeks an even bigger deal. This will surely perpetuate the financial madness for the coming years.

Fernando Felicevich is said to have taken a £15 million fee from the Sanchez transfer, while the long delay in concluding the deal has been attributed to Mkhitaryan’s agent, Mino Raiola, negotiating his cut. Don’t forget, Raiola is Paul Pogba’s agent and made £24 million from that particular deal not so long ago.

A recent study by UEFA showed that agents are taking an average of 12.6 per cent commission, but that the upper extreme could be as high as half in some cases – meaning inciting discontent is all a means to a very rich end for many.

*ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mr James Walton is the Sports Business Group Leader of Deloitte Southeast Asia.