Mikel Arteta has three solutions to Arsenal title woe with mega-transfer at its centre

It has been a very long time since the mood in the Arsenal camp has been this low. Another defeat - just the second away league loss of the year - is all it has taken to force Arsenal to such a trough in their project.

These are the standards that have been raised by Mikel Arteta. Expectations are such that the Gunners now must compete with Manchester City and after Saturday’s results, that reality is tougher to visualise.

There are fingers pointing at the summer transfer window, and while that is something which the club might indeed have fallen short in, that is in the past and to solve these problems, looking backwards is not going to do anything.

Therefore, there are three potential options Mikel Arteta has to change the Gunners’ fortunes. From injury returnees to the upcoming January transfer window.

Skipper saviour

There is hope that the club captain Martin Odegaard will be returning to the team very soon. The lack of creativity in the absence of the Norwegian has been obvious for everyone but there is hope that this week could see him return.

Looking at the pass map from the second half against Newcastle and it is so obvious how much the attacking midfielder has been missed. Only two passes into the box found an Arsenal player.

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Inspiration and motivation

What was such a disappointment about the performance was the reverse fixture was filled with a great sense of injustice due to the results. Yet, there was no sense of bite in Arsenal’s attitude toward the game.

One thing Mikel Arteta has been able to do is motivate this time, inspire them and get them to sing from the same hymn sheet. But we do know that the hairdryer treatment is not too far from Arteta’s own arsenal of reactions in the dressing room.

Whatever the solution might be from a squad or tactical point of view, Mikel Arteta has to find a way of getting a response from this side. Failing to do so might be more damning than any poor result.

The transfer window

Arsenal might have enjoyed a near-net-zero summer when it comes to buying and selling, but any suggestion they could allow that to remain the case through January has taken a sudden turn. Reinforcement is needed as Arsenal’' lack of depth in the attacking areas to cope with absences has been laid bare.

Sporting director Edu Gaspar is known for having transfer plans in place many months in advance. The Brazilian needs this to be the case this time around history tells us that it can be.

Arsenal went hard for Moises Caicedo with a huge bid that still fell short of Brighton valuation. Yet they still spent close to £60million on Jakub Kiwior, Leandro Trossard and Jorginho – so the evidence is there to suggest they will do what is necessary if it can be found.