"Very ambitious, very fast, and very smart." That was manager Mikel Arteta's aim for Arsenal's transfer dealings following their defeat by Paris St-Germain in the Champions League final in May. The Gunners won their first title in 22 years last season by seven points and did not lose a game in the Champions League during normal time, with their only loss in the competition coming to Luis Enrique's side on penalties. But it was clear coming into the summer transfer window that the club were looking for a game-changing attacker to lift their forward line.
Viktor Gyokeres - a £64m signing last summer from Portuguese side Sporting - scored 21 goals in his first season for Arsenal but his performances still raised questions about whether he is the best fit for Arteta's side going forward. The same debate was posed on the left wing with Leandro Trossard's form dipping after starting the season well and Gabriel Martinelli, despite scoring six goals in the Champions League campaign, scoring just once in the league. And now both of those players have left the club.
But finding an attacker who could elevate a squad that almost won a domestic and European double proved difficult. Arsenal want to be one of the best clubs in the world. In an interview with the Times, chief executive Richard Garlick said that joining the world's super-clubs is "the goal - that's the ambition".
In that same interview, Garlick acknowledged that the "pool of players is smaller now than it was a few years ago if we're going to improve". And unfortunately for the Gunners, they have found that out this summer. Sporting director Andrea Berta is known for speaking to multiple targets at once while preparing the deals simultaneously.
The Gunners went into this window with interest in Morgan Rogers, Bradley Barcola, Julian Alvarez and Vinicius Jr. Arsenal's pursuit of Vinicius Jr turned public and was shaped around his contract situation at Real Madrid. Ultimately, the Spanish club offered him a bigger package than they had done before Arsenal's interest stepped up.
But inside the club, there was a period where they thought they were going to be successful in bringing one of the best wingers in world football to north London. Questions will be posed as to why the club did not go big for Rogers, but Arsenal stuck to their valuation of £80m before Chelsea then paid £117m for the former Aston Villa forward. That left Julian Alvarez as the only available target in the window after Liverpool succeeded in bringing in Bradley Barcola.
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