Arsenal boss Arteta reacts to Alvarez blow and sends message to Gunners board | OneFootball

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta admits the summer transfer window was not “perfect” for the Gunners as they missed out on Julian Alvarez.

The Gunners completed the signings of Illan Meslier (free, Leeds), Piero Hincapie (£34.5m, Bayer Leverkusen), Christos Tzolis (£34.12m, Club Brugge), Bruno Guimaraes (£75m, Newcastle) and Ezri Konsa (£51m, Aston Villa) in the summer transfer window.

Arsenal went for quality over quantity this summer and they will be disappointed not to have got a deal for another attacker over the line before the deadline.

The Gunners were linked with Morgan Rogers, who eventually went to Chelsea in a deal worth £117m, as well as Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior and Atletico Madrid striker Alvarez.

Argentina international Alvarez looked like the biggest possibility in the final weeks of the transfer window after Atletico Madrid refused to sell the striker to La Liga rivals Barcelona.

However, it eventually became clear that his stance over a potential move to Arsenal wouldn’t change as he continues to hold out for a future transfer to Barcelona.

Reflecting on the summer transfer window and not bringing in another attacker, Arsenal boss Arteta told reporters on Friday: “I think to get this done in this market is complicated. It’s not that easy. I don’t know how it looks from the outside.

“We have put everything that we possibly could to make those deals happen, and we have made most of them happen.

“We’ve been very efficient. I think what Andre has done in the market, again, has been incredible with the support of all the club.

“And that’s it. But it’s never perfect. It doesn’t mean to be perfect.”

Arteta on Arsenal attack: ‘We have to prove’

Tzolis came in during the transfer market but Arsenal sold Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus as they prepared for the new season.

When asked whether Arsenal’s attack is stronger now than it was last season, Arteta added: “We have to prove, in that particular position, whether we are better or not. Let’s see.

“I mean, we need to play. I don’t like to make assumptions before.

“I think that’s not just the responsibility of those players, it’s the responsibility of the team and the dynamic of the team, and we have multiple options to play there with different profiles as well.”

One area they are extremely strong in is defence with Arsenal able to cover for William Saliba’s long-term injury.

When asked about Saliba’s injury timeline, Arteta replied: “We don’t really know the amount of weeks he’s going to be out because it’s about a healing process and everything is a bit different – we know we have to respect certain timings. The progression has been really positive in the last few weeks, but we need to wait and see how that one reacts when we start to put some load into it.”