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With a lack of transfer activity last summer and in January, Arsenal faces a defining period this summer.
There are two things that have defined Arsenal's 2024/25 season. One is injuries. Two is the lack of investment in the squad that has left the Gunners' attacking options crippled.
With Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus out for the season with hamstring and knee injuries, respectively, and Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli having missed a large chunk of the season, it has been up to Ethan Nwaneri, Mikel Merino, Leandro Trossard, and Raheem Sterling to fill the goal-scoring void.
Which they haven't.
Now, Arsenal, who were in the thick of the title race, are some 13 points back due to not taking advantage of their goal-scoring opportunities, something that a forward who could have been brought in during January, would have helped with.
Arsenal has pushed itself into a corner in the summer
But now what the club and Arteta have done due to their lack of spending not only in the summer last year regarding a forward and January, is put all the pressure on themselves to sign one this upcoming summer.
There are no ifs, buts, or maybe's. One thing that is a non-negotiable is the Gunners signing a forward, and it can't be a so-so one either, we are talking top of the class type of forward, and yes, Arsenal will have to loosen the purse strings.
That is the corner the Gunners have pushed themselves into and they only have themselves to blame, and who knows, maybe the plan will reveal itself in the coming months and we will look back on this time with no striker and realize why they didn't sign one - but right now, it is hard to see the plan.
The Gunners failed to win the league this season (although not mathematically out of it) due to the lack of want to invest in the squad, but in the summer, there are zero excuses and if the club doesn't, then it might signal the beginning of the end for the Arteta era in north London.
That might seem heavy-handed, but Arsenal will only have itself to blame, with the 2024/25 season being the catalyst for massive change in north London, for better or worse.
This summer will tell us all we need to know about the club's mentality towards seriously challenging for honors.