Arsenal have missed out on Julian Alvarez, leaving Mikel Arteta without the elite forward he wanted and raising questions over whether the Premier League champions have enough attacking depth for the season ahead.
Alvarez will remain at Atletico Madrid after a summer-long transfer saga in which he attempted to force a move to Spanish rivals Barcelona. Arsenal had been waiting in the wings, but were unable to persuade the Argentina international to return to the Premier League.
The failure to sign Alvarez follows unsuccessful approaches for Morgan Rogers and Vinicius Junior. Rogers joined Chelsea for £117m, a fee Arsenal considered excessive, while Vinicius Junior stayed at Real Madrid.
Arteta called for Arsenal to be “ambitious” and “fast” in the transfer market after the Champions League final defeat by Paris Saint-Germain. Whether the club fulfilled either of those ambitions remains open to debate.
Arsenal began the summer with Rogers as their leading forward target but turned their attention to Vinicius Junior after deciding against matching Chelsea’s valuation. The Alvarez pursuit then continued until Deadline Day, although the Argentine did not show a strong desire to move to Arsenal.
Christos Tzolis was ultimately the club’s only arrival among the front three. At the same time, Arsenal allowed Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus to leave, while Ethan Nwaneri joined Borussia Dortmund on loan.
That amounts to four attackers departing and one arriving. The concern for Arteta is not only whether Arsenal have enough quality in attack, but whether they have enough players to cope with the demands of the campaign.
The left-wing position appears particularly vulnerable. Tzolis is the only recognised option in that role until January, although Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke can also play there.
However, Eze and Madueke are expected to provide cover and rotation for Martin Ødegaard and Bukayo Saka in other attacking positions. Eze demonstrated after coming on against Aston Villa that he can operate effectively from the left, but neither he nor Tzolis offers the same pace and one-on-one threat that Arteta previously had through Martinelli.
They are also less inclined to attack the space behind defences in the way Martinelli regularly did.
Those familiar with Tzolis believe one of his strengths is his capacity to recover quickly and perform again only three days later. He played just under 4,400 minutes for Club Brugge last season, around 900 fewer than Martinelli and Trossard managed between them for Arsenal.
That workload could mean Tzolis has to play approximately 10 more matches this season than he did last term. Whether he can carry the left-wing responsibility for much of the campaign is one of the key questions facing Arsenal.
Centre-forward is another area where the squad has been reduced. With Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres available in that position, and Jesus having left, Arsenal have one fewer option than they had last season.
Arteta said earlier in the summer that he feared the title had slipped away from Arsenal in November, when Mikel Merino was the club’s only available striker. Merino can fill in up front, but losing Jesus nevertheless appears an unusual decision given the previous shortage in that position, even though he made very few appearances for Arsenal in 2026.
The club can argue that it has improved its attack without needing to sign another front-three player. Bruno Guimaraes arrived for £75m and should provide a different dimension, having ranked among the Premier League’s leading players for breaking defensive lines last season. He also impressed in a substitute appearance on his Premier League debut against Aston Villa.
Sixteen-year-old Max Dowman is another potential solution. He is expected to have a greater first-team role than last season, when he was treated as a wildcard. Dowman can operate on the right wing or as a number 10, allowing Madueke and Eze to be used in other positions when required.
Arsenal can also point to a squad that contains at least two players for every position, with some areas offering three options. The club overhauled its medical department during the summer, and improved availability for key players such as Saka and Ødegaard would give Arteta greater attacking depth in practice.
The wider squad has been strengthened in defence, where William Saliba’s long-term injury created a significant concern and led Arsenal to sign Ezri Konsa. With Jurrien Timber and Ben White having struggled to maintain consistent fitness records, and White suffering during Monday’s match against Villa, extra cover at right-back is valuable.
Konsa, White, Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie give Arsenal a formidable group of defensive alternatives behind their regular back four. Many Premier League sides would regard that unit as their first-choice defence.
However, Manchester City have made a series of statement signings, including Elliot Anderson, Ayyoub Bouaddi and Enzo Fernandez, as they reshape their midfield. Chelsea not only beat Arsenal to Rogers but also addressed several weaknesses, particularly in goal, defence and experience.
Both clubs can therefore claim to be prepared for a title challenge against Arsenal, who may feel their transfer window has fallen short in attacking terms.
Whether the gap at the top has narrowed will be tested immediately on Sunday, when Arsenal face Chelsea.
Arsenal v Chelsea is live on Sky Sports Premier League on Sunday, with kick-off at 16:30.
