Arsenal's transfer to-do list after January window closes as Mikel Arteta targets striker

Arsenal may have hoped for more in the January transfer window but there still plenty of reasons to be cheerful at the Emirates.

This season has seen Mikel Arteta finally show fans why can have tempered confidence in his hotly-debated process, having cultivated a young and exciting team that could bring the glory days back to the red side of north London.

The Gunners head into the second half of the campaign well in with a shout of returning to the Champions League after a five-year absence, despite failing to win any of their fives games in 2022.

But Arteta still has work to do in rejigging his squad, not least signing a new No.9.

With that in mind, here's Arsenal's to-do list after a disappointing January on and off the pitch.

Taking it from the top, there is now no doubt that the Gunners need someone to lead the line in the summer.

After the departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Barcelona, Arteta has been left with only Alexandre Lacazatte and Eddie Nketiah as his two striking options - and both's contracts expire in the less than six months' time.

So, having missed out of Dusan Vlahovic to Juventus, Arsenal must find a No.9 before it is too late again.

While Everton talisman Dominic Calvert-Lewin is a proven Premier League predator, Alexander Isak of Real Sociedad has been heavily linked with a move to the Emirates.

A decision needs to be made soon, though, or else their summer fate will be the same as last month.

Stemming from their striker situation, Arteta has not yet selected his permanent captain after stripping Aubameyang of the armband in December, immediately freezing him out of the first-teams setup.

Lacazette has taken over duties in the meantime, but his looming exit leaves an opening for a successor.