When Mikel Arteta revealed before Arsenal’s win at Aston Villa that he had pleaded with the Premier League to introduce bigger matchday squads, the final 24 hours of the transfer window was not quite what he would have had in mind. A deadline day on which Manchester City matched the British record to sign Enzo Fernández from Chelsea for £125m came and went as Arsenal allowed Gabriel Jesus and Ethan Nwaneri to leave without bringing in replacements.

With Gabriel Martinelli expected to join Al-Hilal before Sunday’s deadline in Saudi Arabia for a fee that could rise to £60m, there are question marks about the depth of the champions’ squad, despite Arteta still having at least two options for each position. Eberechi Eze will provide competition on the left for the new boy Christos Tzolis, and the manager has a plethora of central midfielders at his disposal after the arrival of Bruno Guimarães from Newcastle, but there is not much room for manoeuvre should Arsenal experience injuries in attack like they have for the past two seasons.

Arteta had been clear after the Villa game when asked whether he hoped to bring in more players. “We know that the depth has to be really big when you are fighting for four competitions in the manner that we play as well, so we’re going to try to do that,” he said.

Yet none arrived as Arsenal passed up the opportunity to bring in Malick Fofana owing to what it is understood were Arteta’s doubts over whether the Belgium forward would improve the squad, with Sunderland eventually beating Crystal Palace to his signature in dramatic scenes. The fallout has prompted some Arsenal supporters to question the wisdom of spending most of the summer, after missing out on Morgan Rogers to Chelsea, chasing “dream” transfer targets such as Vinícius Júnior and Julián Alvarez, with the sporting director, Andrea Berta, most in the firing line.

The Italian’s arrival from Atlético Madrid in March 2025 was heralded as a coup by many. Berta’s decisiveness last summer enabled Arsenal to rack up a net spend of more than £250m – comfortably outstripping their rivals – on players such as Eze, Viktor Gyökeres and Martín Zubimendi.

This summer the Premier League champions were quick off the mark to replace Leandro Trossard with Tzolis, then added Guimarães, before buying Ezri Konsa to cover the long-term absence of William Saliba, but the lack of attacking reinforcements on deadline day was eye-catching.

Offloading Jesus, one of the club’s highest earners, saved wages, and Martinelli’s departure as the club’s record sale would reduce Arsenal’s net spend to £78m – less than Brentford’s – compared with £162m at City, who spent more than £300m recalibrating their midfield. Iliman Ndiaye, who joined City from Everton for £65m, was another player on Arsenal’s shortlist who they opted against.

There can be no questioning Kroenke Sports Entertainment’s commitment to the cause, Arsenal having the second-highest net spend over past five seasons at more than £680m. Yet it will not have escaped the attention of some fans that it was confirmed on deadline day that KSE will expand its sporting empire with the purchase of the Major League Baseball side the Los Angeles Angels, for a reported $4bn (£3bn). With an estimated value of $26bn, it is not as if it cannot afford that.

Even before Arsenal wrapped up their first title for 22 years in May, the co-chair Josh Kroenke promised that “there will be no standing still when the season ends”, and bringing in Premier League-ready players such as Konsa and Guimarães was a statement of intent. However, the inability to attract real star quality in attack is an issue considering the heavy burden on Bukayo Saka after a couple of injury-hit campaigns. Kenan Yildiz could have fitted the bill but Juventus were not interested in selling the Turkey forward, and Alvarez made plain he wanted only Barcelona.

Arsenal struggled to break teams down during the second half of last season and became heavily reliant on their set-piece prowess, although a rejuvenated Martin Ødegaard has started the campaign promisingly.

Martinelli has failed in recent seasons to replicate his form of the 2022-23 season, when he scored 15 Premier League goals, but his pace off the bench often caused problems for teams who were chasing the game. None of Arteta’s remaining options possess that commodity, though Tzolis showed before a difficult half at Villa that he has the ability to create and score goals.

Eze, who missed in the shootout that decided the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain after coming off the bench, replaced the Greece forward against Villa and played a key role in Saka’s winner. Even after his heroics against Tottenham last season, scoring five goals against the team who were gazumped for his signature, the England forward has not nailed down a starting spot in the most important games. Eze could end up being the biggest beneficiary of Arsenal’s transfer inactivity along with Max Dowman, the 16-year-old who has yet to make an appearance this season.

After a summer of transition among their rivals, Arteta is banking on continuity to stay ahead of the pack.