It has been a very frustrating month for Mikel Arteta and Antonio Conte in terms of incomings at Arsenal and Tottenham.
Both managers have made no secret of their desire to bring new players into the Gunners and Spurs this month, but at the time of writing, neither side have completed any signings.
The north London duo will undoubtedly be doing everything in their power to add to their squads before Monday's 11pm transfer deadline, but they face a race against the clock.
It's not like Arsenal and Tottenham have not tried to sign new players. The Gunners were very interested in Dusan Vlahovic, but the Serbian striker completed a big-money move to Juventus recently, despite strong interest from Arsenal.
Meanwhile, across north London, Tottenham wanted Adama Traore, but the Spaniard was said to be unconvinced with Spurs' plans for him. So, Conte's side then went in for Luis Diaz - but the Colombian now looks set to choose Liverpool instead.
Former Chelsea star Tony Cascarino has now explained his thinking behind why both clubs are struggling to sign their top targets this month.
Speaking to talkSPORT, he said: "Players from abroad look at the CVs of football clubs. We all talk about the CV of a player and of a manager. We can talk about Antonio Conte’s and it’s a fantastic one. We can talk about the facilities at Spurs and they are extraordinary, but they haven’t got a CV as a club.
"They haven’t got a haul of trophies have they, they haven’t won the Premier League, have they? They have been close a couple of times and, yes they are an attractive proposition, they’re a great football club, but they are not going to win a deal ahead of Liverpool, 9 times out of 10, at the moment.
"It’s like Manchester United. They hogged the transfer market. And there were people, like Alan Shearer and others, who turned them down but nearly every target that Fergie wanted, they went because of Fergie and the success the club was having. It was an easy choice for players."
Cascarino added: "If you’re a wanted player, lots of players get hijacked. Not everyone gets everyone they want.
"There are clubs who get spoilt for choice sometimes because a player is desperately wanting to come to you.
"The manager does have a big play in it. Conte is a terrific manager. I just think they are having a difficult time getting the type of player he thinks is needed and getting them over the line is really tough.
"It’s the same problem for Arteta. He’s got the same problem as Spurs have got."
It remains to be seen whether Arsenal and Tottenham will bring new players in before Monday's deadline, but supporters of both clubs will be desperate to see some new faces.
