Try as they might, the Gunners simply couldn't find an elite forward. Morgan Rogers - the scorer of Chelsea's only goal at the Emirates on Sunday - was their top target until the Blues gazumped them with a £117m offer.

Kenan Yildiz of Juventus was purused, so was Julian Alvarez at Atletico Madrid. Vinicius Junior was a target too, only for him to stay at Real Madrid.

As a result, once all was said and done, the only player who arrived to replace Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard was Christos Tzolis. He's had a productive start to life in London but doesn't look like being the same sort of clutch player that the Belgian was.

How Tzolis has proved the doubters wrong at Arsenal

The Greek winger may only be two months into his Arsenal adventure but he's already had to fight away the haters on two separate occasions.

When he first arrived to the tune of £34m, it didn't create a huge amount of fanfare. The attacker's numbers last season at Club Brugge were extraordinary, scoring 22 goals and supplying 29 assists. However, this was not the elite forward fans were craving.

However, within just a matter of pre-season games, Tzolis was making an impact. Supporters liked what they saw.

He scored on his non-competitive debut against Girona before picking up assists against Real Betis and Borussia Dortmund. He then registered a further two assists in the Community Shield. Perhaps he was the player fans were lusting after all along.

Then came that away trip to Villa Park. Against Aston Villa, Tzolis came up against an aggressive Matty Cash who was in no mood to let him have the easy ride he had against Coventry a week prior.

The Greece international was subbed at half-time after a dismal opening 45 minutes in the Midlands. Yet, Mikel Arteta kept the faith and as he has done for much of his short Arsenal career to date, fought off the doubters again against Chelsea.

It was Tzolis who provided the assist for Martin Odegaard's goal, sliding the ball into the skipper who then rifled his finish past Emiliano Martinez. Besides that Villa game, the 24-year-old has looked the real deal. He's so decisive, so assured with his final actions.

He's got a bit of Trossard about him too. Speaking in pre-season, Arteta said: "He's a very direct player. He's got the ball between the eyes. I think really good at linking up. He has a lot of similarities with Leo [Trossard] in a lot of the things that he can do and the spaces he can occupy."

Still, we're yet to get a sense that Tzolis is the man to replace Trossard's clutch nature. They will have to source that elsewhere.

Forget Tzolis: £65m star is Arsenal's new Trossard

When Trossard captured his farewell for fans after agreeing to sign for Besiktas, he signed it off by calling himself Mr Clutch. He certainly has the right to do just that.

While the former Brighton man could be inconsistent, he was always the man for the vital moments, always the man in the big games to pop up when you really needed him.

Indeed, Since joining Arsenal in January 2023, only two players - Gabriel Magalhaes (82%) and Mikel Merino (91%) - have contributed to a higher percentage of game state changing goals.

What is a game state changing goal? Well, it defines either an equalising goal or a goal to give their team the lead. In that department, very few have been better than Trossard.

With the Belgian having departed, many are looking to Tzolis to deliver the goods but what if another player could be their new Mr Clutch? Clue, it's not Merino or Gabriel.

The man we're talking about is Kai Havertz. When the German first arrived from Chelsea in 2023, questions were raised. Understandable ones too.

This was a player who had struggled to find his best position at Stamford Bridge. Well, under Arteta, he certainly hasn't had that problem. The Spaniard has worked wonders with the 27-year-old to a point where he has now become an elite number 9. He's the club's leading marksman, ahead of even Viktor Gyokeres.

Why does Arteta loves him so much? The £65m signing works so hard, much like Trossard. No striker has covered a larger distance per 90 minutes this season than the German. Only one striker, Daizen Maeda at Ipswich, has completed more sprints per 90 than Havertz's 17.4. He's a machine.

We saw his true value against Chelsea on Sunday where Havertz once again popped up in a big game, scoring a precious equaliser.

During that clash, Havertz was phenomenal. For starters, no player had more touches (8) in the opposition penalty area. No player hit a higher top speed than him (34.1 km/h). For a big, burly striker, he is certainly no slouch.

He brings other into play beautifully. Only Odegaard and Tzolis (4) created more chances than his three at the weekend. Combine that with his ability to pop up in the big moments - much like Trossard - and you have one of the most reliable players in the league.

He's certainly a man for the important occasions. He started in the Champions League final and scored, while he was also chosen ahead of Gyokeres in the Community Shield and in the FA Cup final.

So, while he may not be a flying diminutive winger like Trossard, he certainly works just as hard, if not harder, and he's capable of producing golden moments when it really matters.