Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta should learn from Liverpool as Gunners face transfer disaster

Arteta gives update on Arsenal's transfer plans ahead of Deadline Day

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Arsenal’s season is in real danger of slipping away with them after they were held to a goalless draw by basement boys Burnley on Sunday. The problems run deeper for Mikel Arteta, however, with the Gunners boss facing a disaster up front.

The entire January transfer window has been dominated by rumours of Arsenal moving for Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic.

The young hotshot is valued at £70million, reports suggest, and it seems the Gunners will have to pay through the nose to get their man.

But the moves Arsenal have already made this summer suggest they’re confident of doing so.

Arteta allowed young forward Folarin Balogun to leave on loan, while it seems Eddie Nketiah could also be sold due to his ongoing contract stand-off.

Club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was even exiled, being barred from the first-team squad before the African Cup of Nations.

The forward is on a long contract on a reported £220,000 per-week, with bonuses on top of that.

But Arteta has no interest of playing the striker again, it seems, and the Gunners boss could be left with a devastating situation after the transfer window closes.

Arsenal are battling it out for a top-four place, but face doing so with just one recognised striker – Alexandre Lacazette.

Compare their situation to that of Liverpool, who lost their best two strikers to AFCON and went on to win every Premier League game without them, or Manchester City, who missed out on signing a striker last summer and made things work in different ways instead, and Arteta’s situation screams of a lack of long-term planning.

The Gunners’ system doesn’t allow for creative midfielders to play as false nines in a free-flowing attack.

They also don’t have the likes of Takumi Minamino, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain or Diogo Jota to call upon when they lose players.

And that could end up being their downfall – they simply don’t have the answers to cope if they don’t change now.

Arsenal will likely battle it out with Tottenham for the final spot in the top four, though Manchester United are still in the mix.

Neither of their rivals have signed anyone this month, but neither have weakened themselves at the same time.

Now it’s illogical to think the solution to Arsenal’s problems should just be to throw money around in January. They don’t have the bottomless pits of money the likes of City and Chelsea do.

But after such shrewd spending in the summer, forking out £150m on the spine of a new team and strengthening a number of positions – why allow your season to be defined on whether or not you’re able to sign a striker?

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