Arsenal have seemingly surrendered their hopes of a top-four finish this season with back-to-back defeats at Tottenham and Newcastle. The Gunners have been without many first-team players in the run-in, most notably Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey.
Arsenal also had Takehiro Tomiyasu, Ben White, Alexandre Lacazette, and Gabriel Magalhaes face fitness issues in the last ten games. However, Arsenal allowed Pablo Mari, Calum Chambers, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Sead Kolasinac and Ainsley Maitland-Niles all to leave either on loan or permanently.
It became clear that he could have done with the additional depth in the squad. Ahead of the match with Everton, Arteta was asked about the trimming of the squad and the wage bill. Specifically, however the timing of when it happened.
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"We've been doing it for two years. We've been doing that for two years," Arteta said.
However, the Arsenal manager was pressed again about the amount done in January. A window that saw no first-team reinforcements made either.
Interrupting the question, Arteta said, "We need a model that is sustainable. There has to be. We are attached to the Premier League rules, UEFA rules, that has to be accomplished, and there are some restrictions that we want this club to be run in a sustainable way."
"And at the same time very ambitious. We have to understand that this is the framework to work."
It was clear that the question was framed to ask why the club allowed as many players in January to leave as they did. It is understandable that the club would want to move on surplus talent that isn't required.
However, the volume of players and quality that was allowed to leave with such shortness of playing staff then becoming apparent at the most crucial time was right to be questioned. Arteta's answer about Premier League restrictions doesn't add up.
Why restrictions would come into play when the players that left in January were not replaced by anyone coming in is puzzling. Had the club been at the capacity, which they were not anyway, then moving players on might make sense were they buying. But no moves materialised.
There is a frustration that the conceding of fourth place to Tottenham could have been avoided had the Gunners acted in the window. Whilst Arsenal ended the January transfer window with a weaker squad than when it went into it, Tottenham added Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur.
Tanguy Ndombele, the club's record signing, was allowed to leave. Bentancur, however, replaced him and even improved output from the midfield. Whereas Arteta's decision to move on Aubameyang, another club-record signing at the time of his arrival, was not responded to with a replacement.
In the defence have been the main losses, and Calum Chambers' exit, in particular, is baffling. The versatile player capable of operating at right-back and centre half joined Aston Villa with just six months left on his deal.
Arsenal saved a minimal amount on his wages, and any associated fee was very limited. Chambers could, however, have been useful in these closing weeks, especially with Tomiyasu and White's fitness concerns and Rob Holding's suspension.
Come next week, and reflections will begin as to the cause of a probably missed opportunity of a season. January will be a prime factor, but Arteta's current explanation is simply not good enough to justify the decision making at the time.
