Arsenal hope remains for a forward as the seconds tick toward the close of the January transfer window. Mikel Arteta has been very open about the need to strengthen during the window but after the win with City, when asked by football.london he was not very optimistic and instead was opting to ignore the window entirely it seemed.

"I don't know, my phone has been off with transfer window, forbidden to call me, to text me about any of that," he said. "My focus was that that's the best preparation we can have for Wednesday, and that was the only thing I was interested in."

Two names have been most present so far, Ollie Watkins and Mathys Tel. However, so far there is no indication that either will be becoming Arsenal players.

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While there is indeed very little time remaining, if there is a reason to keep hope it can come in the form of the most recent deadline day, summer 2024. At the start of the day and even into the early afternoon, Arsenal were simply not signing a forward.

Suggestions that Raheem Sterling might join the club were dismissed out of hand. Neither Arsenal nor Chelsea were aligned on a potential move for the multi-Premier League-winning player.

However, one phone call changed everything and Chelsea arrived with an offer that Arsenal felt was simply too good not to consider and eventually accept. Sterling would arrive at the Sobha Realty Training Centre very late as the then-sporting director Edu Gaspar worked to get that deal done.

It goes to show just how volatile the final day of a transfer window can be for clubs as the hope remains for a late surprise. However, the time left is perhaps even shorter than it was and in the case of Sterling it was Arsenal who were approached about a deal and it looks to be requiring the opposite for something to happen in this case.