As Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta spoke to TNT Sports at full-time, the Spaniard remarked that the squad is "lacking" one thing. It doesn't take a genius to work out what that is; a striker.
The Gunners' 1-0 defeat against West Ham last Saturday felt like a real kick in the teeth, the moment the Premier Leaguetitle was probably lost. That was hammered home following a 0-0 draw against Nottingham Forest on a night Liverpool secured all three points again.
Truth be told, the title was lost in January. The club can't have foreseen an injury to Kai Havertz..or perhaps they could. Alas, it was abundantly clear that Arteta needed help. This squad needed someone, anybody, just any sort of forward that could have lightened the load and scored a few goals.
Since Havertz was injured on that trip to Dubai, Arsenal have netted just twice in three games courtesy of makeshift centre-forward Mikel Merino. They didn't look like finding the net last weekend and for all their dominance at the City ground on Wednesday, never looked like finding their way past Forest 'keeper Matz Sels.
Nuno Santo revealed at the end of the game that their game plan was to crowd the midfield, knowing they didn't need an extra man to deal with Arsenal's lack of a striker. That summed it up. Pundit Martin Keown was rather left speechless.