After a January transfer window which saw Arsenal ship out 12 players - including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - few could argue they are now a stronger squad.
Mikel Arteta was heavily backed in the summer, but any progression made in pre-season is now at risk of being lost in the final months of the season.
It was a frustrating month with a deeply disappointing crescendo as target after target failed to sign on the dotted line.
And not for the first time, Gunners owner Stan Kroenke is facing criticism for - what seems on paper at least - a deeply risky transfer strategy.
But it’s likely that as the window slammed shut on Monday night, Kroenke’s thoughts were as far away from north London as possible.
For a full Deadline Day recap click here: Every Premier League deal completed
Less than 24 hours earlier, the 74-year-old was being showered in confetti as one of his other sporting enterprises the Los Angeles Rams reached the apex of the National Football League.
A dramatic 20-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers booked the Rams’ place in the Super Bowl later this month, the second time they have reached the season ending showpiece in four seasons.
And their second crack at the Lombardi Trophy will come in their own brand-new, state of the art stadium.
Like Arsenal did more than 15 years ago, the Rams decided that in order to progress as a franchise, they would move stadiums.
In total SoFi Stadium cost more than £4billion, almost double the original projection. Kroenke was also forced to take out two additional loans from the league, which totalled £725m in order to get the project completed.
But unlike the Gunners, who have yet to reach the pinnacle since the move to the Emirates, a bold and brave team-building plan has them on the verge of history.
“We worked on this project for a number of years and it's wonderful to see it come to fruition. Reaching the big game, the big game in our house,” Kroenke told NFL Network shortly after the Rams’ victory.
“It means a lot to the area and we are proud of it. The economic benefits, I’m really proud of coming to Inglewood.”
Kroenke’s NFL team have continued to recruit the league’s best, in a recruitment strategy that is zigging, while the rest of the league zags.
Arsenal’s 2021 summer strategy showed that their aims were to buy young and develop.
Compare that to the Rams, where superstar players like Jalen Ramsey, Von Miller, Odell Beckham Jr. and Matthew Stafford have all been traded for, and the difference could barely be more stark.
It’s a strategy which Kroenke himself admitted he was unsure of, with the Rams opting to go from 2017-2023 with no first round draft picks.
“It’s a little bit of a different strategy,” the Arsenal owner admitted. “But we have a firm belief in our development people and how we can develop these players.
“We’ve really had some great players developed here and then moved away. Les [Snead, General Manager] and Sean [McVay, Head Coach], look at it that way and so you put faith in them and they’ve been able to produce.”
With the Rams’ aggressive approach coming so quickly after an extremely costly relocation, Arsenal supporters will be forgiven for being a little perturbed at just how different the timescale appears to be for their project.
