Bradley Barcola was heavily linked with a move to Arsenal before his Premier League transfer from Paris Saint-Germain to Liverpool in August

Bradley Barcola might well have been lining up at Anfield on Sunday as an away player, had Mikel Arteta got his wish. The Liverpool summer acquisition had been strongly touted for a switch to Arsenal throughout the year, before his transfer from Paris Saint-Germain.

Liverpool ultimately bided their time across the entire summer to land their priority attacking recruit, making the France international the second most costly player in the club's history upon finalising his signing at the close of August.

With Mohamed Salah's exit, the Reds secured their marquee addition to strengthen Andoni Iraola's attacking line. However, the situation at the Emirates proved markedly different, despite Arsenal's standing as Premier League champions and Champions League finalists.

The Gunners were reportedly pursuing several high-profile forwards during the summer as they sought to improve their own attacking choices, but were ultimately left disappointed when the transfer window shut, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Barcola featured prominently on their wish list, yet the Frenchman opted for Liverpool following the Reds' extensive preparatory work, while Arsenal proved unwilling to match their financial proposal in any case.

They must have viewed his choice as peculiar, undoubtedly, given their commanding position as defending champions compared to Liverpool's own difficulties under former head coach Arne Slot as they narrowly clinched Champions League qualification. Vinicius Junior represented another prime target, only to ultimately reject their overtures in favour of penning fresh terms with Real Madrid.

Julian Alvarez similarly rebuffed their approaches as he unsuccessfully attempted to engineer a switch to Barcelona from Atletico Madrid, while Morgan Rogers eventually opted to join Chelsea rather than the Gunners.

Therefore, despite offloading Gabriel Martinelli to Al-Hilal, Leandro Trossard to Besiktas and Gabriel Jesus to Barcelona, Christos Tzolis proved to be the sole new attacking recruit to Arteta's squad during the summer following his transfer after two impressive campaigns with Belgian Pro League outfit Club Brugge.

As such, the Gunners, notwithstanding their position of second in the Premier League table heading into Sunday's visit to Anfield and possessing the division's stingiest defence, continue to lack firepower up front with just 13 goals registered.

Arteta has been forced to shuffle his pack in pursuit of a more potent combination, with fitness concerns compounding his difficulties.

Tzolis began the campaign as the preferred option on the left flank, but a hamstring problem sustained during the previous international window has led to both Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke being tested in that role.

And with teenager Max Dowman suspended, alongside both Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres struggling to find the net centrally, Arsenal's attacking resources appear somewhat limited.

Excluding the definitively unavailable Saka, their forward players have managed just five goals collectively across the Premier League and Champions League this campaign.

Get Liverpool's new 2026/27 home kit

Liverpool FC have launched their new home kit for the 2026/27, inspired by iconic adidas strip worn during the club's 1989/90 title-winning campaign.

While Liverpool have actually netted fewer times in the English top flight this season (11), with Iraola lamenting that his team are still to properly discover their goalscoring touch in the Premier League, their attacking options remain more robust - despite experiencing injuries themselves.

Alexander Isak, Victor Munoz and Cody Gakpo - all of whom have missed matches through injury - account for nine of the Reds' Premier League strikes, while Barcola, Florian Wirtz and Lewis Koumas contribute a further five across European competition.

And although Barcola is yet to register in the Premier League, he has provided assists for Isak in each of Liverpool's previous two Premier League fixtures against Brentford and Brighton and Hove Albion respectively as he continues to settle into life at Anfield. The Reds may have lost Salah on a free transfer in the summer and fallen short in their pursuit of a natural replacement on the right flank, yet they still bolstered their attacking arsenal overall with the acquisitions of Barcola and Munoz.