It was January 2022 and Mikel Arteta wanted a striker. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had been banished from the first-team squad after returning late from a trip to see his unwell mother in France – an incident the Gabon striker claimed in a recent interview that the Arsenal manager described as a “knife in his back” – and would never play for the club again.
But with time against them in the notoriously exorbitant January market and unwilling to meet the €90m (£75m) release clause in the contract of Real Sociedad’s Alexander Isak, the decision was made not to go for the Sweden striker and wait until the summer to see what else came up.
Arsenal were pipped to a Champions League spot by Tottenham as Bukayo Saka ended the season as their top scorer with just 12 goals. Yet rather than pursue a deal for Isak – who instead joined Newcastle at the end of August for a club record £63m – or Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, who was also discussed, they brought in Gabriel Jesus from Sunday’s opponents Manchester City for £45m and then signed Oleksandr Zinchenko from Pep Guardiola’s side a few weeks later for another £30m.
Both players were hailed at the time as canny signings for a squad that lacked experience, with Jesus scoring 11 Premier League goals and Zinchenko starting 26 times as Arsenal finished as runners-up to City. But despite their undoubted contribution in that first season, a combination of injuries and loss of form has led to their influence steadily declining over the past 18 months as Arteta has been forced to turn to alternatives. Kai Havertz – initially signed as a midfield replacement for Granit Xhaka – had assumed the mantle of first-choice No 9 even before Jesus suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury after a brief return to goalscoring form around Christmas.
Zinchenko has started only four times in all competitions this season after the arrival of Riccardo Calafiori in the summer and the emergence of Myles Lewis-Skelly, and could be on his way out if a deal can be agreed with Atlético Madrid or Borussia Dortmund. Raheem Sterling – who also has four Premier League title winners’ medals from his time at City – has also failed to deliver since joining on loan from Chelsea. The missed penalty against Girona on Wednesday night was the latest example of how the former England forward’s confidence appears to have deserted him, with the decision to sign him as a backup to Saka having backfired spectacularly given Arsenal’s frantic search for reinforcements and the emergence of the superb Ethan Nwaneri.
Sterling ended up being Edu’s final signing before his own surprise departure in November to join the network of clubs spearheaded by the Nottingham Forest owner, Evangelos Marinakis, with the Brazilian thought to have been frustrated by the decision not to bring in targets such as Benjamin Sesko, who signed a new deal with RB Leipzig instead.
Now it is his former deputy, Jason Ayto, who has been given the task of finding a solution to a problem that has been three years in the making. The surprise move for Watkins – who is now 29, albeit having proven himself at the very highest level since Arsenal were last interested – looks doomed to failure now that Villa have opted to sell Jhon Durán, meaning that Arsenal are facing a frantic finale to the transfer window if they are to find any alternatives.
Mathys Tel is one option, although he is also wanted by a number of other Premier League clubs after rejecting a permanent move to Tottenham. A deal for Sesko looks a non-starter until the summer, when he is expected to cost around £60m, while Isak looks out of reach after his spectacular season for Newcastle.
“The ball arrived to him and he had one of the big chances. That’s what you have when you have real quality up front,” acknowledged Arteta when Isak scored the opening goal in Arsenal’s defeat by Eddie Howe’s side in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final at the Emirates.
The 2-0 deficit may be too much to make up next week given Arsenal have lost on three of their last four visits to St James’ Park. But with Ayto yet to make his first signing and the search for Edu’s long-term replacement continuing in the background, the pressure is on to deliver reinforcements after sealing a spot in the top eight of the Champions League.
Arsenal remain confident that they will complete a deal to sign Spain midfielder Martín Zubimendi from Sociedad in the summer for his €70m release clause despite rumours of late competition from Real Madrid. But having seen Sverre Nypan decide to wait until the summer to decide his future amid interest from City’s sister club Girona and Villa, and with teenage defender Ayden Heaven looking set to reject a new deal and join Manchester United, there is a desperate need for some good news on the recruitment front.
“I’m very confident with the work that the club is doing, and exploring every single opportunity that we believe can have an impact on the team,” Arteta said before the meeting with City at the Emirates. “If that’s certainly the case and we can agree on something, we will, and if not, we won’t.
“We are trying everything that we can, but I don’t want to give any reassurance or not. It doesn’t depend only on us, so our intention is clear, but the possibilities are affected by three parties.”
