Arsenal cannot rely on luck to bridge gap for clear transfer mistake next season

Arsenal made significant mistakes in the summer transfer window, and they will get away with it this season, but that won't always be the case.

The Gunners have recruited close to expert-level over the last few years. Not every signing has panned out, but they have built a wonderful squad that is one of the best in world football.

Coming out of last season, it's obvious where the concerns were. To compete with PSG, Arsenal needed a second elite pivot to play alongside Declan Rice. PSG have two, and it's a huge reason they have dominated world football.

Arsenal managed to hang in the Champions League football regardless, but anyone who watched the game knows PSG were the better team.

And so, still wanting to realise their Champions League dream, the Gunners went out and bought Bruno Guimaraes. That made sense.

The other main issue was out wide on the left. Leandro Trossard unexpectedly had one of his best seasons in an Arsenal shirt despite many expecting him to lose his place last season, but it still felt as though the Gunners needed a more elite option to complete their attack.

Too much fell on Bukayo Saka to produce magic, especially with Arsenal not having a truly elite centre-forward, which they can get away with because of their system, and so a left-winger was sought.

The Gunners replaced Trossard, who left for Besiktas, with Christos Tzolis, who looks to be a solid signing, but to the surprise of many, they allowed Gabriel Martinelli to leave without finding a replacement.

That was a questionable decision, and it left the Arsenal front line looking weaker than last seaso.

We have already seen that show up this season, with Tzolis spending time out injured, leading to Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze attempting to fill the role. The results have been insufficient, there is no doubt.

Arsenal have gotten away with it so far, with Manchester City struggling for consistency, and they are likely to get away with it all season, even though they might sign a winger come January.

City are likely to get a big points deduction, and it's hard to see who can truly push Arsenal this term, given the strength of their squad elsewhere, even with Brighton performing well currently.

But this kind of recruitment mistake won't wash in different seasons, when clubs like Liverpool and Chelsea are likely to get it right with their recruitment.

The Gunners are fortunate enough to get away with it on this occasion, but they must learn from the error to avoid it being punished in future campaigns, and punished it will be.

What we don't know is to what degree this will hold Arsenal back in the Champions League, and that will likely depend on what they do in the winter window.

The Gunners will get through the first stage without any problems, so it's then about whether they can get a top winger in for the knockouts. If they don't, their chances of winning the competition are very limited, especially when you look at the strength of PSG, Bayern Munich and PSG, while Real Madrid won't be ruled out.

If Arsenal can get someone in who fills the gap and does a decent job, a high-level but not elite left-winger, they will give themselves a chance based on the rest of their squad, but to be one of the favourites, they are going to need to finally tick off that elite left-winger signing.

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