Arsenal suffer transfer crisis thanks to Arteta’s refusal to correct mistake

Arsenal endured a mixed January transfer window, with Arteta appearing to fail to strengthen his squad sufficiently ahead of the race to finish in the top four of the Premier League

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Every transfer deal done before the deadline

Arsenal have been plunged into a transfer crisis once again, but it is a mess all of Mikel Arteta’s own making as he continues to fail to correct a major mistake.

The Gunners endured a miserable January window on the transfer front, with their only additions being two MLS players who will not link up with their new team until at least the summer.

They did find some success in moving on fringe members of Arteta’s squad, with a total of six players leaving the Emirates Stadium, either on free transfers or loan deals.

But that has left Arteta’s squad looking worryingly short in key areas, particularly at striker, with Florian Balogun having been loaned to Middlesbrough and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joining Barcelona.

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Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette are the only two senior strikers left at the Emirates, though neither have proven capable of scoring the goals needed by a successful team.

Injuries to either of them would be a potentially fatal blow to Arsenal ’s hopes of finishing in the top four.

The Gunners currently sit sixth in the Premier League, though they are only two points behind Manchester United with a game in hand.

Admittedly, Aubameyang was unlikely to play for Arsenal again, but even his presence in the background provided something of a comfort blanket in case injuries did hit.

That comfort blanket is no more though, with the 32-year-old having moved to La Liga giants Barca on a free transfer.

The deadline day nature of the deal left Arsenal with too little time in which to recruit a replacement and exposed a major error in Arteta’s transfer planning.

Since he was appointed, the Spaniard has overseen five transfer windows as Gunners boss.

In that timespan, Arsenal have brought in three goalkeepers, seven defenders and four midfielders, but not a single striker.

That strategy has left the Gunners’ squad looking lopsided, with the defence having been fully revamped while the attacking group remains undermanned.

The crisis has been looming for some time, but it appears to have escaped the full attention of Arteta and director of football Edu.

Arsenal did launch a January move for Dusan Vlahovic but after it became clear that the Serbian would be joining Juventus, no other realistic targets emerged.

It shows a remarkable lack of foresight from Arsenal’s recruitment chiefs, with the Premier League side now left exposed.

It is a crisis that arguably should have been fixed some time ago, with Arteta having shunned the position for five successive windows.

Aubameyang’s arrival at the Nou Camp only serves to exemplify Arsenal’s lack of options in forward areas.

And with Arsenal’s striker crisis clear to see, Arteta will only have himself to blame if injuries do hit and he is left with no clear option at striker.

The Spaniard has been left praying that Lacazette and Nketiah are able to stay fit for the remainder of the season if Arsenal’s top four hopes are to be realised.