Arsenal’s major transfer miss leaves Mikel Arteta with just one real option

Arsenal start the season with the lingering feeling that the job was left unfinished in the transfer market. The London club moved with ambition for Morgan Rogers, Vinicius Jr and Julian Alvarez, but none of the three deals got over the line. That shortfall leaves Mikel Arteta in an awkward position: he must now squeeze the most out of the squad he has and lean on tactical work to improve an attack that was crying out for a genuine game-changer.

What Arsenal wanted from the summer window

Arteta's message after losing the Champions League final in Budapest sounded like a clear statement of intent. The Basque coach spoke of making important decisions, showing ambition and acting quickly and intelligently to reach another level. The speech was widely read as a direct request for a top-class attacking talent capable of settling tight games and pushing the project forward.

That piece never arrived. The club did show ambition and pulled off smart business elsewhere, but the finishing touch remained missing. The feeling inside and outside the club is that Arsenal had the squad to behave like champions and push on, yet the attack ended up shorter than expected.

• Arsenal tried and failed to sign Morgan Rogers, Vinicius Jr and Julian Alvarez.
• The defence was strengthened with Ezri Konsa and the midfield with Bruno Guimaraes.
• Christos Tzolis was the only forward signing of note, and he remains unproven.
• Arteta is considering tactical tweaks to make up for the missing star forward.

Why the biggest attacking targets got away

Arsenal knew the pool of forwards capable of truly moving the needle was tiny, and that most of them belonged to the biggest Spanish clubs. That meant attempting the most spectacular deals, with little room for error. In Vinicius' case, the London club felt the move was on until Real Madrid responded with a renewal offer nobody expected. Florentino Perez was never going to accept the embarrassment of losing such a player.

The Rogers deal hit a simpler wall: Chelsea came in with a valuation Arsenal were never going to match. The club's explanation is that it was not about waiting too long, but about respecting the context of a World Cup campaign and avoiding an inflated bidding war. Even so, there are voices saying the decision dragged on while the price climbed, with one eye on a more glamorous target.

The scrutiny on sporting director Andrea Berta

Sporting director Andrea Berta has been placed firmly under the microscope. His style, built on juggling multiple negotiations at once and keeping several plates spinning, has divided opinion. Supporters of his approach point out that it brought in Konsa and Bruno Guimaraes, with the Brazilian already hailed as a transformative addition in midfield.

Critics argue, however, that the method was not properly applied to the search for the left forward. Arsenal needed a very specific and rare profile, and any mistake in that area of the market could prove costly. In such situations, even Berta's doubters accept, it is better to wait and keep discipline than to sign the wrong player simply for the sake of doing something.

An attack with less depth and less pace

The net result of the window is hard to explain, even for some within the club. The forward line has less depth than last season and less speed, an unusual combination for a side aiming to defend a title. Several Premier League-ready players left, and the incomings did not offset those departures.

Some at the club argue that sales had to be accepted for players who would not feature as often, and that Gabriel Martinelli's situation had deeper roots than a late-window sale. The Brazilian had spoken about leaving in the past. Even allowing for that, the overall impression is that the final stretch of the window felt messier than it should have been.

The coaching solutions Arteta is preparing

Without a marquee signing up front, the coaching staff are leaning on daily work and system tweaks. Eberechi Eze will adapt more to the left-sided role he was originally meant for, a switch that also brings a formation adjustment: Calafiori and Hincapie will push on outside, as was already visible in Saka's goal against Aston Villa.

Saka and Madueke can also operate on the left, while Mikel Merino has fully learned the centre-forward role. The main hope is to get the trio of Havertz, Odegaard and Saka playing together consistently. Their extended absences shaped the end of last season, and if all three stay fit, the outlook on the attack could change completely.

The fitness warning hanging over the season

A reasonable question remains over whether Arteta has learned from the previous campaign when it comes to training intensity and player rotation. A crowded calendar demands careful management, and the temptation to always field the strongest eleven could again take its toll in the decisive months.

January moves and the regret over Semenyo

If things get difficult, Arsenal are likely to act in the winter market. Bournemouth's Eli Junior Kroupi is almost certain to be an option, and the situations of Julian Alvarez and perhaps even Vinicius could be different by then. The mere mention of January reopens an internal wound: Antoine Semenyo wanted to join earlier this year at a relatively low price, and the deal was not completed.

Arteta has noted how Manchester City simply go and get their targets when they identify them. The manager still has his champions in good shape and retains complete control of the project, an advantage tied to his status as the longest-serving elite coach. The paradox is clear: by building such a complete squad, one big summer failure is felt more sharply here than almost anywhere else.