Arsenal fans are all too familiar with that feeling of failure come transfer deadline day and it washed over the fanbase once again on Monday come midnight.
Sure, the Gunners have sprung a few shocks at the eleventh hour in their time - both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Thomas Partey were deadline day deals that undeniably sparked huge excitement among the Arsenal faithful.
And who could forget the scenes in the summer of 2013 when the club announced Mesut Ozil's arrival on the last day of the window?
Yet, the January window of 2022 passed Arsenal by without a single noticeable incoming despite letting a number of players leave the club, whether that be on a loan or permanent deal.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Who should Arsenal have signed this month? Comment below
The Gunners faithful waited with baited breath for any news on former Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic but the Serbian instead opted to remain in Italy and join Turin-based titans Juventus.
Persistent links with a player were regularly followed by no deal materialising - and that is nothing new for the Gunners. So Mirror Football has taken a look at six transfer sagas that have ended in failure for Arsenal over the years.
Karim Benzema - 2008
The idea of Benzema lining up at the Emirates nowadays seems unfathomable, but back in 2008 Arsene Wenger was still at the helm and his influence over French talent was undeniable.
Even the player in question commented publicly on the constant rumours linking him with a move to the Emirates, with Benzema once stating: "I laugh about it with my brother and my friends. We wait for the media to come out with these rumours."
The speculation started in 2008 when many outlets suggested Arsenal viewed Benzema as the perfect Emmanuel Adebayor replacement, the rumours carried on long after - though he signed for Real Madrid just a year later.
The last sign of any paper talk linking Benzema with a move to north London came in the January transfer window of 2015.
It comes as little surprise that the Gunners failed yet again in their pursuit of the Frenchman, who has since gone on to become one of the best strikers European football has seen.
Gonzalo Higuain - 2013
Few transfer sagas end with the player involved being booed and jeered by a scorned club, but that's exactly what happened to Gonzalo Higuain in the summer of 2013.
The Argentine was first linked with Arsenal way back in the summer of 2009 while he was still a Real Madrid player alongside the fellow regularly-linked Benzema.
Some papers suggested that Higuain had actually flown to London to complete a £23m deal from Madrid, but radio silence subsequently followed until 2012 when the striker did eventually leave the Spanish capital - for Naples.
Just one year into his time at Napoli, rumours linking Higuain with a move to Arsenal yet again reared their head only this time Liverpool had also reportedly entered the race.
In the end, neither of them got their man and Higuain arrived in north London just weeks after allegedly turning down a move to the Gunners to participate in the annual pre-season Emirates Cup where he was the subject of taunts from the home faithful.
Yann M'Vila - 2013
Wenger has stated on many occasions how close Arsenal were to signing French midfielder M'Vila while he was plying his trade at Ligue 1 side Rennes.
Speaking in 2013, Arsenal's iconic former boss discussed M'Vila with the club website: "He was a very young, promising midfielder and we were interested in him.
"The year we wanted to bring him in, they did not want to sell him.
"He had a few off-the-field problems but it looks like now he’s stabilised and he’s of course a very good player who is a regular player in the national team in France."
The midfielder would eventually go on to play in the Premier League, only in the colours of Sunderland during their relegation dogfight of 2016.
Jamie Vardy - 2016
A surprise entry, but many Arsenal fans will recall the summer of 2016 when the club were regularly linked with the man who had just fired Leicester City to the most remarkable of title victories.
Jamie Vardy had just finished his season-long party at the King Power when the rumour mill went into overdrive over the Foxes forward's imminent arrival at the Emirates.
The Gunners fanbase waited anxiously after Vardy insisted he would clarify his club future after the 2016 European Championships, but it did not stop a number of them mocking up fake images of the striker in an Arsenal kit to facilitate further excitement.
In the end, it was all for nothing as Vardy stayed put despite his wife Rebekah liking some pretty revealing tweets about living in London.
Arthur Melo - 2022
In the wake of both Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka serving suspensions for red cards, and Mohamed Elneny spending the month in Cameroon for the Africa Cup of Nations, Arsenal were left short in central midfield.
Unlike Arsenal's pursuit of a striker that saw a number of different names linked, there was only ever really one candidate for the vacancy in the middle of the park - Juventus star Arthur Melo.
The Brazilian was relentlessly linked with the Gunners as part of a loan deal, but a disagreement over the duration of the deal is thought to be the reason behind why Arthur remains in Turin.
Juventus wanted to ship the 25-year-old off for 18 months, but Arteta and Co. only wanted Arthur at the club for the remainder of the current campaign, keen not to attach themselves to the player for too long providing it doesn't work out.
As a result, Arsenal end the month with the same central midfield options they started with.
Dusan Vlahovic - 2022
Dusan Vlahovic was unlikely to have been a household name among Arsenal fans prior to the January transfer window, but they all know his name now.
The Serbian international was constantly touted with a switch to the Emirates despite a number of reports actually suggesting the 22-year-old was never particularly interested in Arsenal's project.
A lack of Champions League football in north London may have been the deciding factor, though remaining in Italy with Juventus presents Vlahovic with the chance to break further Serie A goal-scoring records after equalling Cristiano Ronaldo's feat of most goals in a calendar year in 2021.
Vlahovic has gone on to inherit Ronaldo's number seven shirt in Turin after snubbing interest from Arteta and Arsenal.
His decision came with just days of the window left, providing the Gunners with very little time to try and find an alternative.
