Arsenal came up short in pursuit of Morgan Rogers while also missing out on Vinicius Jr and Julian Alvarez leaving Mikel Arteta facing a stark transfer dilemma. Arteta sat in Budapest’s Puskas Arena as a beaten Champions League finalist and admitted the club must make important decisions if they want to reach another level. The Independent reported that Arsenal did not get that absolute quality they needed and the forward line has less depth than before while also having less pace. Arsenal lost three Premier League-ready forwards and only brought in a single unproven forward Christos Tzolis. There was scepticism about sporting director Andrea Berta's approach at rival clubs with the wheeler dealer described as spinning plates. Bruno Guimaraes was brought in and hailed as major but Arsenal needed to make sales this summer and go big in attack. Arsenal knew there was only a very limited pool of players that would satisfy what they needed and most of that limited pool were at the big Spanish clubs. Arsenal felt they had Vinicius until Real Madrid made a contract offer few expected and Florentino Perez ultimately could not allow the loss of face of losing Vinicius. It can sometimes be worse to get the wrong player for the sake of it Arsenal waited too long allowing the price to go up with Elliot Anderson. Arsenal had an eye on the more fanciful pursuit of Vinicius it was not about waiting but respecting a World Cup campaign Chelsea came in with a valuation Arsenal were never going to match. The forward line has less depth than last year while also having less pace. Sale opportunities had to be taken for those that were not going to play as much. There was a longer-term situation with Gabriel Martinelli than just selling late in the window the Brazilian has talked of leaving in the past. Eberechi Eze will now adapt more to the left-sided role he was initially intended for. Deployment of Eze will bring a tweak to the formation that sees Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie surge outside. That could already be seen in Bukayo Saka's goal against Aston Villa. Saka and Madueke can also operate on the left. Mikel Merino has now fully learned the centre-forward position. The World Cup winner is now fit. Most of the first-choice attack was absent for long stretches Kai Havertz Martin Odegaard and Saka. The hope is that the trio playing consistently will change perspectives. Whether Arteta has truly evolved from last season's climax regarding intensity of training and use of players. Whether Arteta fully realises the need to keep it lighter in a packed schedule. Whether Arteta will persist in constantly playing his best sides as much as possible. Arsenal are likely to do business in January. The World Cup winner is now fit. Most of the first-choice attack was absent for long stretches Kai Havertz Martin Odegaard and Saka. The hope is that the trio playing consistently will change perspectives. Whether Arteta has truly evolved from last season's climax regarding intensity of training and use of players. Whether Arteta fully realises the need to keep it lighter in a packed schedule. Whether Arteta will persist in constantly playing his best sides as much as possible. Arsenal are likely to do business in January. Mikel Arteta said We will have to start making some very important decisions if we want to reach another level We are going to have to show that ambition because we are more than capable of doing it but it is going to demand us to be very ambitious very fast and very smart. REPORTED BY www.the-independent.com Arsenal sit 2nd in Premier League with 6 points from 2 games and a goal difference of plus four. The next fixture is vs Chelsea at home on 2026-09-06. Currently sidelined Jurriën Timber William Saliba Cristhian Mosquera.