Arsenal had a great transfer window past August, but it seems that the club was not aware that they could be left without a single striker in their rotation this July. The freshly closed transfer window failed to solve that problem, moreover, they let one of their best offensive players move to Barcelona as a free agent. To top this whole strange transfer situation off – the Emirates club brought in an American defender – Auston Trusty – and left him on loan at MLS side Colorado Rapids until July 2022.Pierre Emerick Aubameyang is a Barcelona player. Everything was agreed, he underwent medicals, although at one point it seemed that there would be no deal. However, there was a turnaround at the last minute and the executives of the Blaugrana have completed the necessary paperwork, and an official statement is expected soon. What came as the biggest surprise in the whole story is the fact that Arsenal gave him ‘clean’ papers in order to move to Catalonia.Arsenal after the transfer window: pic.twitter.com/N9wMtdvt9O— B/R Football (@brfootball) January 31, 2022 The club from the Emirates did not earn anything with the departure of their former captain, but at least the deal saved them close to 34 million USD through his leftover salaries. The former Borussia Dortmund striker went OUT of the pecking order in north London in early December.Captain’s armband was stripped off of him and he was removed from the team after he returned late from France without the club’s permission to go get a tattoo. He had permission to return to his homeland to pick up his sick mother, but not to stay longer than agreed. Especially not because of some tattoo arrangements.Now that the saga is over, Aubameyang continues his career at the Camp Nou and Arsenal remain with two strikers: Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah. Apart from sharing their position on the pitch, both of them are also bound by the fact that their contracts expire at the end of the current season.Adebayor on Auba: Like-it-or-not, he is our African brother; Arsenal never knew how to forgiveSo far, there are no indications that they will extend their contracts. Crystal Palace wanted Nketiah this January, but aware of the situation, Arsenal did not want to let him go. He will hardly stay after the expiration of the current deal at the Emirates, and the same is true for the experienced Lacazette, who has often been criticized in recent years and has been linked to leaving the Gunners several times.With a shortened rotation in the attack and without enough proper solutions in front of the opponent’s goal, Arsenal will, as things stand, fall out from the Champions League race again. Manchester United have more quality, Tottenham brought two good signings from Juventus (Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancour), while Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City have already distanced themselves, and it is clear that the top three are clearly at a different level from the Gunners.So, in the period when the club is threatened with being left without any classic center forwards, the management has decided to use the entire transfer window to bring in – a defender they don’t even count on?!𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Auston Trusty is set to join @Arsenal this summer. From your entire #Rapids96 family, congratulations @austheboss3! 📝: https://t.co/PXQzLac5Bq pic.twitter.com/c7ctIHM6e6— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) January 31, 2022 The importance of signing the 23-year-old Auston Trusty to Arsenal – who has not yet made his debut for the US senior team – is proved by the fact that the Gunners did not make an effort to publish it on social networks. A ‘shy’ statement appeared on the club’s website, stating that an agreement had been reached with the Colorado Rapids and that Trusty would stay there until the end of the MLS season. The American will not be available to Mikel Arteta in the next competition year either, because the club’s plan is for the player to spend the 2022/23 season on loan at a European club in order to adapt.Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke, whose company also owns Rapids, is undoubtedly behind the transfer. The question is, however, whether Trusty will get the opportunity to make his debut and the shirt of the team from North London. It is only clear that the club owner caught the attention of the fans again.But again – what about the attackers? The club tried signing Dušan Vlahović – the English media wrote that the offer of close to 80 million USD was sent to Fiorentina but the Serbian striker ended up at Juventus. It was also written about the interest in another Serbian forward – Luka Jović – but he stayed at Real Madrid.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Real Sociedad’s Alexander Isak also imposed himself as an option, but it was clear at the start that the Basques would not let him go in the middle of the season. The option was to pay the release clause, but it turned out to be a ‘trivial’ sum of 79 million USD. It is certain that the Gunners will try to hire him next summer as well, but it is also clear that they will have huge competition (AC Milan is already preparing an offer for the next transfer window and the Rossoneri are not the only ones).There was also an option called Dominic Calvert Lewin. Arsenal were allegedly ready to set aside close to 80 million USD but in the end – no agreement was reached because Everton were simply not ready to give up one of the most important players before their fight for Premier League survival.4 hours to go until the transfer window shuts… ⏳#Arsenal #Arteta #AFC pic.twitter.com/QFkCwkIt7P— AFTV (@AFTVMedia) January 31, 2022 In the end, Arsenal were left empty-handed, although as many as six players left the club. Along with Aubameyang, Ainsley Maitland Niles (loaned to Roma), Folarin Balogun (loan to Middlesbrough), Calum Chambers (moved to Aston Villa as a free agent), Sead Kolasinac (moved to Marseille as a free player) and Pablo Mari (loaned to Udinese) also left. In July, Arsenal will have to focus all their attention on hiring attackers, and it is clear that this will not be an easy task.
