Arsenal outspent by Wrexham in January transfer window after failing to get striker and cutting squad to just 19 players
ARSENAL endured a miserable January transfer window that saw them outspent by non-league Wrexham.
Mikel Arteta missed out on a number of key targets and also lost 14 players.
Youth prospect Lino Sousa, 17, was the only January arrival for the Gunners as he joined from West Brom and signed his first professional contract.
Goalkeeper Matt Turner will join from New England Revolution in the summer while Auston Trusty was signed and loaned back to Colorado Rapids.
Wrexham, meanwhile, splashed £300k on Ollie Palmer from AFC Wimbledon in their bid to be promoted back to the Football League.
Arteta will have to make do with his current crop of stars in Arsenal's bid to finish in the top four.
The Gunners missed out on Serbia striker Dusan Vlahovic as he decided to join Juventus instead.
Deals for Real Sociedad striker Alexander Isak and Espanyol's Raul De Tomas also fell through last month.
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And, to make matters worse, there was a mass exodus of players leaving north London.
Former captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang finalised a move to Barcelona on Monday night - becoming the 14th departure in January.
Among those were many first-team stars including Sead Kolasinac, Pablo Mari, Calum Chambers and Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
It leaves Arteta with a first-team squad of just 19 players to get through the remainder of the campaign.
The Gunners are out of all cup competitions and have just two Premier League games scheduled in February.
Arteta's men are sixth in the Premier League - two points behind fourth-placed Man Utd with a game in hand.
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