A look inside Arsenal’s ‘missed opportunity’ transfer window: how Gunners lost Morgan Rogers, Julian Alvarez and Vinicius Junior, late move for blockbuster target revealed – and the market gains that soften the blow

Arsenal end the summer transfer period with three fewer attackers than they started with. That is certainly not a state of affairs that many would have predicted, especially now that they are in office Premier League champions, and yet here we are.

The need to evolve in the face of strengthening their Big Six rivals had one area chairman, Josh Kroenke, claiming this was a prime target. After clinching the title in May, he said: ‘Right now there are other teams who are already trying to strengthen to come to us next season. So we must be aware of that.

“We’ve already had a few conversations about different areas that we think we can improve on, both on and off the pitch. We look forward to getting that started this summer.”

A decent window of solid additions has followed, you might say, but far from dominant. A side strong enough to retain the title, yes, but an opportunity to create an impregnable lineup that could leave their rivals in the dust was squandered.

It was almost a return summer for a club that seems to react allergically to attackers.

Last year’s signing of Viktor Gyokeres had quelled long-standing calls from supporters to invest in a top-quality centre-forward. However, this summer was a throwback to the days of 2023 and 2024, when the club’s inability to sign a striker (Kai Havertz initially signed as a midfielder) caused bewilderment and frustration in equal measure.

The hierarchy’s overall plans were implemented this time with mixed results, with some areas impressively achieved. The signing of Bruno Guimaraes for £75m looks like a bargain compared to the prices of other midfielders in the league – such as Enzo Fernandez (£125m), Elliot Anderson (£116m) and Sandro Tonali (£100m). Guimaraes is arguably a better player than Tonali but was signed for £25m less. So that was a real victory. It is in the front line where the problems arise.

Arsenal wanted Morgan Rogers, but he went to Chelsea. Vinicius Junior was the prize the Gunners wanted most, but he opted to stay at Real Madrid. Some cynics claimed he used the interest to get a better contract.

Julian Alvarez was a long-term target, an ultimately unrealistic target because he had set his sights on Barcelona. It is clear that Arsenal knew the chase took place last weekend.

Yet the hunt for a striker went further than this. Daily mail sport understands that assistant manager Gabriel Heinze contacted Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez – a fellow Argentinian – early last week about a possible move.

In response, Inter refused to make any sort of deal as the forward has three years left on his contract. So Arsenal were actively trying to bring a striker to the club, aware of the need to complement Havertz and Gyokeres with Gabriel Jesus heading out the door to Barca.

Gyokeres has not played a minute in either of Arsenal’s two league matches so far. Was that a signal from Arteta to the board? Maybe.

Arsenal were interested in Rogers, but only for a fee of around £80 million. When that was exceeded by Chelsea, they walked away from the table. Sources claim Rogers was keen on a move and his camp urged Arsenal to match Chelsea’s offer as the player wanted a move to the Gunners.

Arsenal also looked at Bradley Barcola, the Paris Saint-Germain winger who was eventually sold to Liverpool for £123 million. The Gunners weren’t convinced he was worth the money so they made no bid.

Without Rogers and Barcola, Arsenal’s front line is barer than before. The club has lost three strikers: Leandro Trossard, Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli (Martinelli’s move to Al-Hilal has yet to be completed, the Saudi window closes on September 6) and added one more in Christos Tzolis. Attacking midfielder Ethan Nwaneri also left, on loan to Borussia Dortmund.

It is the left-wing area where the lack of options is particularly acute, with Tzolis and Eberechi Eze being the only two obvious candidates.

Greek winger Tzolis was earmarked as a player with a high ceiling who would fight for a starting spot, but more for the future than now. Eze spent most of last season as an attacking midfielder. Add to that the possibility of injuries, which hurt Arsenal last season, and the options become smaller.

Without Martinelli, Noni Madueke is now expected to play more on both flanks than last season.

Arsenal’s inability to sign a striker alongside Tzolis is a tough pill to swallow for a fanbase who believe they would land a major signing in the form of Vinicius or Alvarez. Madueke possibly coming in on the left is a drop in expectations.

It has to be said: the market in which Arsenal are hunting for a striker is very exclusive, with very few options and sky-high prices. That’s not easy, even though sporting director Andrea Berta will now come under scrutiny for his inability to land such a signing.

The biggest purchase on deadline day for Kroenke Sports and Entertainment (KSE) was not an expensive forward, but the £2.9 billion takeover of baseball franchise Los Angeles Angels. How Arsenal fans would have loved for that level of ambition to focus on the Emirates.

However, there are positives in what is still a good window for Arsenal. Ezri Konsa was a smart addition. He strengthens an already formidable back line and cements the Gunners’ squad as the league’s best defensive unit.

But the English man also fulfills another function: preventing the other Big Six clubs from signing a proven central defender. All of Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea needed Konsa much more than Arsenal. Preventing them from getting him is a boost.

Tzolis showed promising signs in the Community Shield win over Manchester City and his man-of-the-match performance against Coventry. He struggled against Villa on Monday, but that’s to be expected for a player used to such tough competition.

A further win out of the window for Arsenal is their sales. For years they have attracted attention because they are bad at raising big expenses.

The terminated contracts of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mesut Ozil, Nicolas Pepe and Sead Kolasinac in previous years did little to change the narrative that the Gunners are worse at selling than their rivals.

A record £35m sale for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool in 2017 didn’t help either. This summer, that record is likely to be broken once Martinelli’s £55million move to Al-Hilal goes through.

In total, more than £100m has been raised from the sales of Jesus to Barcelona (£9m), Trossard to Besiktas (£15m), Jakub Kiwior to Porto (£15m), Fabio Vieira to Hamburg (£9m) and Christian Norgaard to Everton (£7m).

For example, the departure of Martinelli, Jesus and Vieira removes around £500,000 from the wage bill; that has an impact.

Ultimately, Arsenal have had a decent spell, strengthening a solid back line and adding depth in midfield. Although the inability to add another forward to the roster feels like a missed opportunity.

This was the summer that saw Arsenal get the chance to go from defending champions to overwhelming favorites after a 22-year wait for the title finally came to an end. Instead, they probably finished the window with less depth of attack than before.

Arsenal remain one of the best teams in Europe and are a clear favorite to retain the title.

With Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and others all trying to close the gap, the margin for error will be smaller than it needs to be.