Mikel Arteta has admitted that Arsenal were "disappointed" not to sign anyone in the winter transfer window, but felt the need to remain 'disciplined' in how they acted.
The Arsenal manager was vocal about his desire for a January addition to the frontline, saying they were "actively" looking at targets after Bukayo Saka's and Gabriel Jesus's respective hamstring and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries.
An approach was made for Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins, but was rebuffed as Jhon Duran pursued a move to Al Nassr. They were also aware of Mathys Tel, but did not view him as a No 9. Midfield target Sverre Nypan is also now expected to stay at Rosenborg until the end of the season.
"We had a clear intention, which is always to explore the opportunities to improve the squad with players who can impact it," Arteta said in his pre-Newcastle United press conference.
"We haven't achieved it, so we are disappointed in that sense. But we are aware that we only want to bring certain types of players. We have to be disciplined with that as well and I think that we were."
On whether he was frustrated about not recruiting a new forward after being vocal about it, he added: "No, because when you try your best and do things with the right process, and see people with the same intentions, when you don't achieve it "okay".
"For sure there are things to learn from it, there always are, but you have to move on. That's a piece that was important in the moment and now we have to move on. Nobody knows whether it's better to have done it (signed someone) or not -- we will probably know at the end of the season."
Before Arsenal's 5-1 thrashing of Manchester City, Arteta said the result of the game (which was played the day before deadline day) would not change how the club ended the window.
The win meant Arsenal have won their last four matches in all competitions, scoring 11 in the process. The Spaniard would not be drawn on whether the right player was available or not, but said there were no issues with the character of any players that were looked at.
This is not the first time Arsenal have decided against buying in January. They did the same in 2022 despite being linked to Alexander Isak and Dusan Vlahovic (of Real Sociedad and Fiorentina at the time), only to focus on signing Gabriel Jesus that summer. No incoming signings were made last season either.
On whether that approach will help their spending power in the summer, Arteta joked "an extra card" before saying: "What I mean about that is in everything. The kind of profile, the kind of player we believe can really make us much better. Financially, there are a lot of things that have to stay in the lane that has taken us this far and from there try to improve."
Arsenal face Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg on Wednesday, February 5. No matter the result, they will have a 10-day break before their next fixture away to Leicester City on February 15.
Arteta confirmed that the squad will be heading to Dubai during the break, as has been the case in previous seasons.
On whether he has similar plans to past trips, or whether he will mix things up to help refresh the squad, he said: "There are a lot of things that are very similar: where we train, the location. But then we have to modify it.
"We might be in a different moment of the season, with different numbers. The team will probably need other stimuli, so we are preparing a few things. Hopefully it works like it has in the last few times."