Biggest Issues Facing Arsenal in Final Month of 2015 Transfer Window

With the Community Shield safely in the Arsenal trophy cabinet, thoughts now inevitably turn toward the imminent commencement of the 2015/16 Premier League campaign. Arsenal have just under a month left to finish any remaining transfer business. If they are to emerge as winners of more than just a friendly showpiece occasion, they may have to hope for a fortuitous find in what’s left of the window.

So far, their business has been restricted to recruiting Petr Cech from Chelsea and selling off several fringe players. The likes of Lukas Podolski, Yaya Sanogo and Wojciech Szczesny have all been sold or loaned out of the club, and more could yet follow them.

It’s difficult to see a place in the senior setup for Costa Rican forward Joel Campbell, while Tomas Rosicky’s slide down the midfield pecking order could lead to the Czech veteran angling for a move away from the Emirates Stadium.

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Those kinds of sales would have little impact on an Arsenal squad packed with talent. As for the acquisition of Rosicky’s international colleague Cech, that seems like a massive step in the right direction. At Wembley, he emanated calmness and professionalism. The erratic moments of Szczesny will surely be banished from memory by Cech’s poise between the sticks.

The biggest question facing Arsene Wenger is whether or not any more incoming business is required at all. Arsenal have the deepest squad they've fielded in years, with a measure of cover at every position.

Cech, for example, is backed up by Colombian international David Ospina and promising youngster Emiliano Martinez. That kind of competition exists all throughout the roster. The only exception is in defensive midfield, where neither Mathieu Flamini nor Mikel Arteta convince entirely as a replacement for the feisty Francis Coquelin.

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It seems Wenger believes that stability could be just as valuable as a number of new additions. Arsenal may only have added a first-choice goalkeeper, but that’s precisely what they did in the summer of 2003—and they went on to win the Premier League unbeaten the following May. Wenger is not light on options or quality, and he would be wrong to add purely for its own sake.

However, that’s not to say there’s no way this squad can be improved. A genuinely elite talent can always advance a team’s prospects, but the Gunners should only be shopping from the top shelf.

The most obvious area in which to do that is at centre-forward. Currently, striking duties seem to be split between the trio of Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck. The fact that neither has been able to seize sole possession of the spot tells its own story. The opportunity is there for a top-class talent to arrive and make the role his own.

It does not seem as if that man will be Karim Benzema, despite persistent speculation linking the Frenchman with a move to north London. Speaking to Uche Amako of the Express, Real Madrid manager Rafa Benitez said of the forward, "He will stay with us, I can't see any reason why he would leave. We are very happy with him."

So Arsenal and Wenger must bide their time and see if another top-class target becomes available. There’s no obvious alternative, but by the same token, few ever anticipated that Mesut Ozil would end up making a deadline-day move to London in 2013.

If Arsenal are to add the elite striker they may need to bridge the gap with Chelsea, they may have to pull off a similar surprise.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout 2015/16. Follow him on Twitter here.