If you're looking for positives from Thursday night's tepid defeat to Liverpool, it could be argued that the game was at least a learning experience for Arsenal.
The lesson taken? That the Gunners need a new striker.
Some would argue that with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang edging closer to an exit, Flo Balogun having joined Middlesbrough on loan until the end of the season, and Eddie Nketiah 's future uncertain, this is something we already knew. But watching Alexandre Lacazette wilt into anonymity at the Emirates Stadium, the point was hammered home brutally.
As Mikel Arteta grew increasingly frustrated with what he was seeing on the touchline it became clear that the need for a new number nine is something that Spaniard is aware of too, and it seems he already identified his main target for the role.
football.london understands that Arsenal are keen to secure a move for Fiorentina's Dusan Vlahovic, and looking purely at the numbers he's been putting up recently it's easy to see why.
The Serbian equalled Cristiano Ronaldo's Serie A record for the most goals scored in a calendar year in 2021, and is showing no signs of slowing down, with two goals in his three 2022 matches so far.
This, though, is not enough to explain the intensity of Arteta's interest in the striker. If scoring goals was all the Spaniard wanted from his number nine, then surely he would have found a way to reincorporate Aubameyang into the group after his latest disciplinary misdemeanour last month.
So why then are the Gunners so keen to get Vlahovic in?
Well, at a most basic level, he has what they're currently lacking in the squad.
Throughout Thursday night's match, it was abundantly clear that Lacazette could not compete with the physical presence of Liverpool's defensive triangle of Joel Matip, Virgil Van Dijk and Fabinho. As a result, he found himself consistently drifting to the right to try to get on the ball and vacating the central spaces where he was needed most.
The man who replaced him, Nketiah, faired no better, and with no focal point to their attack Arsenal couldn't get around the Reds' static press, leading Ben White, Gabriel and the deeper-lying Martin Odegaard to have comfortably the most touches in the game.
Vlahovic would have been an antidote to this issue.
The Serbian's physicality is such that he does not adjust for opposition defenders, but rather it is they who adjust to him.
This is no convenience of nature but rather something he has honed over the years. Upon breaking into the Partizan Belgrade team and becoming their youngest ever goalscorer at just 16-year-of-age, he was a scrawny youngster who Premier League defenders would have eaten alive, but after nearly four years up against the fiercest backlines in Italy his weakness is now quite literally a strength.
This presence up front provides an instant get out of jail free card when teams look to press high as Liverpool did the other night.
In the picture below, Fiorentina are looking to play from the back, but the passing options for La Viola's keeper Pietro Terracciano are well cut off by Juventus.
With one ball along the ground, though, Terracciano plays it to Vlahovic who in turn flicks it out to Jose Callejon, and in the space of two touches Fiorentina have gone from defence to attack.
With Aaron Ramsdale's ability on the ball, and Arsenal's best-attacking talents situated out wide in Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Gabriel Martinelli, it's easy to see how this could be replicated at the Emirates Stadium.
Key to the Gunners' increased goal scoring record last month was the speed of their play from defence to attack, and Vlahovic's no-nonsense straight-to-goal approach could reignite this.
Upon laying it off to his teammates, the Serbian then has the desire to dash straight to the penalty area with the intention of getting on the end of chances that are laid on for him. In the box, he is decisive thanks to a confidence reminiscent of his idol Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
When you're looking at young strikers across Europe right now, it is probably only Erling Haaland who is better, although this is something Vlahovic himself takes issue with.
"He is faster than me," the 21-year-old said of Borussia Dortmund's Norwegian forward. "But for the rest, we compete."
Of course, there are areas to his game that Vlahovic will need to work on. The 21-year-old's pressing, for example, leaves a little to be desired. But he is keen to improve and cites the work ethic of his former Fiorentina teammate Franck Ribery as a key influence on this drive to succeed.
While the Frenchman was in Florence he would turn up to training two hours early despite having won nearly every honour going in the domestic game.
"If Ribery was doing that,” he recounted, “a guy that was nearly 38 and had won everything that a player could possibly win, how could I not, as a young guy that still had to prove himself?
"So, go and watch him, or stay in bed – it was a luxury I couldn't allow myself.”
While there is little doubt over the quality the Serb possesses, what is in question now is Arsenal's ability to get him.
football.london understands that the Gunners remain hopeful of securing a deal for the 21-year-old and are hopeful that the good relationship they've built up with Fiorentina after the Lucas Torreira transfer could play a part. However, now that Juventus have reportedly entered the race for him, the move could become much more complicated.
It seems that the circumstances are now against Arsenal, but if they want to fix the painfully obvious issues on show against Liverpool, then performing this January transfer miracle is a must for Edu.
