How important is it for Arsenal to strengthen before the window closes?

A good start is half the battle, and a hard-fought victory in the Premier League curtain-raiser last week earned Arsenal just rewards for their proactive and ambitious approach to the summer transfer window.

Although significant expenditure has already been completed, Mikel Arteta recently spoke of how the club are “still active” in the market and rumours persist that both a central midfielder and winger will arrive before the end of the month. However, with several new faces added to the squad and the new campaign off to the best possible start, how important is it for the Gunners to strengthen over the coming weeks?

Is the Arsenal squad good enough now, or is further recruitment essential to achieve season objectives?

First and foremost, it must be acknowledged that there is always room for improvement and any team is only as strong as its weakest link – an issue that was at the heart of last season’s dramatic collapse. Additionally, greater depth is essential to avoid the risk of burnout and Arsenal need to protect their young players from an overload of first-team action, with Bukayo Saka featuring in over 100 matches between club and country over the past two years.

But despite justifiable unease, three points in the domestic opener suggest rotation concerns have been addressed effectively this summer as each new signing – alongside the returning William Saliba – adapted extremely well and Arsenal managed to come out on top without several stars such as Takehiro Tomiyasu, Emile Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira – notable absences that may have cost us the win in times gone by.

Prospects of forced contentment with existing options come as the club struggles to offload those deemed surplus to requirements, with the future of peripheral figures like Ainsley Maitland-Niles remaining unclear and talks continuing over the termination of Hector Bellerin’s contract. Meanwhile, Reiss Nelson and Nicolas Pepe have failed to attract much attention and a failure to move them on may hamper any chances of fortification in wide areas.

After more than two-and-a-half turbulent years, Arsenal consider this summer to be the final period of construction and we are within touching distance of realising the complete version of the Arteta project.

But while it is certainly preferable that the Gunners make one last push on the recruitment front, the team is already much stronger on paper compared to last season and better placed for a higher league position this term.

Time is of the essence, and we cannot end the transfer window with regrets.