Mikel Arteta has decided Arsenal's next transfer as Gunners target Dusan Vlahovic alternative

Wednesday night's 2-0 defeat to Liverpool was something of a sobering affair for Arsenal. The Gunners were able to keep Jurgen Klopp's men largely at arm's length for the first 50 minutes as the two sides danced around each other like heavyweight boxers trying to figure each other out early in a fight. In the space of a couple of minutes though it was the Reds who landed the knockout blow.

Thiago's misplaced backpass was seized upon by Alexandre Lacazette who squared it back to Martin Odegaard only for the Norwegian to fire a shot lacking conviction off Alisson and out for a corner. Almost immediately after Diogo Jota went down the other end, found space in the right channel and fired in a low effort that caught out Aaron Ramsdale at his near post, before Roberto Firmino flicked home a second minutes later to effectively end the contest. Game over.

After the match Mikel Arteta was in no doubt over where the match had been won and lost. "The way the boys performed showed their courage to play the way we wanted to play, the intensity, the understanding of the game, they really raised their level today," he said in his post-match press conference. "But unfortunately these games are won in the boxes and that was critical difference today not to get anything out of this game, unfortunately." As is typical the Spaniard's assessment was accurate, and it's fascinating to consider what this means for their summer transfer business.

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