The January transfer window deadline is looming large for Arsenal, who are in danger of leaving a job half done.
Over the past 30 days the Gunners have successfully trimmed their squad, offloading five players who are not in Mikel Arteta’s immediate plans.
Sead Kolasinac, Calum Chambers and Pablo Mari have left on permanent deals, while Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Folarin Balogun have joined Roma and Middlesbrough on loan respectively.
If those deals had been struck alongside ones for players coming in the opposite direction, then the window would be viewed as a job well done.
After all, clubs have to strike a balance in transfer windows; people need to leave in order for fresh faces to arrive. Wage bills are dull but important.
The problem for Arsenal, so far, is that they’ve found it much easier to offload their fringe players than sign new players – and that could leave them with a worryingly thin squad.
We will have to wait until the dust have settled on Tuesday morning to properly judge the work of technical director Edu, but the signs at this point are not good.
Arsenal spent weeks openly pursuing Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic. They went ambitious and flashed their cash, only to come up short, with Juventus stepping in and flexing their muscles to land one of the most in-demand strikers in European football.
Looked at one way, Arsenal’s ambition should be admired. After spending over £150million on six players in the summer, they have continued to go after high-value assets in January.
But, on the other hand, it could be argued that the Gunners have been unrealistic.
They are, after all, a club who cannot currently offer European football of any description. It is hardly surprising that Vlahovic would prefer the move to Turin.
For Edu and Arteta, there is little point now reflecting on what might have been. They have depopulated the squad – now they need to put all their efforts into new arrivals.
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And it is obvious which area needs addressing with the most urgency.
Arsenal have failed to win a match in January and have failed to score in their last four in all competitions.
Two of the strikers they do have are out of contract in July and the other, who was stripped off the captaincy due to disciplinary breaches and is paid a reported £350,000 per week, is potentially leaving, with Juventus and Barcelona circling.
Even if Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah weren’t in the last five months of their contracts and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang wasn’t edging towards the exit, Arsenal would need a striker.
But with the pressing doubts around those three – and their shocking recent form – they really need a striker. Vlahovic is gone, it’s time for Plan B.
There was plenty of excitement on social media on Saturday after a video of Alexander Isak in a Soho nightclub emerged online.
The Real Sociedad striker would certainly fit the bill, but his release clause of £58m (€70m) doesn’t make things particularly straightforward.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin would be another brilliant addition, but it’s hard to see Everton selling now, with no chance to sign a replacement.
The Daily Star reported on Saturday night that Frank Lampard has made it clear he wants to build around Calvert-Lewin if he takes the manager’s job.
So you’re beginning to whittle down the long list of potential additions who could arrive in north London before 11pm on Monday.
Lille’s Jonathan David is away on international duty with Canada, complicating his situation further, while the other possibilities are similarly difficult.
Arsenal have backed themselves into a corner. Edu simply has to deliver a top-quality striker in the next two days, otherwise Arsenal risk their season petering out.
