Arsenal allowed Pablo Mari to leave for Monza, leaving Mikel Arteta in need of three more additions before the window closes.
The focus in the market for Arsenal remains on the central midfield and wide forward positions. The club continue to be linked to some big names in both areas but, at this stage, look no closer to securing either.
With the clock ticking down to the end of August, Arsenal are running out of time to complete any final business. However, one departure has provoked a question regarding a surprise third addition that might be needed in the time remaining.
Arsenal have sanctioned the departure of Pablo Mari to Monza, leaving just Gabriel Magalhaes as the only naturally left-sided and left-footed centre-half at the club. William Saliba, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Rob Holding can all play on the left but are right-footed.
Mikel Arteta has favoured having a left-footer in the role and made it a priority to sign Mari in the 2020 January window when he arrived. Despite having access to Holding, Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos, he wanted to add a tactical asset to the team.
The benefit of a left-footed player means you have an out-swinging pass into the full-back rather than an in-swinging one which is harder to control. That said, Ben White has explained the importance of not passing to the full-back in Arteta's new system.
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