Arsenal caught most of the footballing world by surprise last season as they sprinted ahead in the title race. When the Premier League paused for the World Cup in mid-November they had a five-point lead ahead of Manchester City and were flying. Even that couldn't mask certain concerns, though.

The Gunners had been extremely fortunate with injuries in the first part of the season. Mikel Arteta had been able to field eight players in every single one of Arsenal's Premier League matches. This settled status had helped his side, but there still areas where the squad was lacking depth.

In the forward areas, with Emile Smith Rowe out and Reiss Nelson having played much of his football on the right at the time, there was no quality back up for Gabriel Martinelli. There was also no left-sided centre-back beyond Gabriel, while Albert Sambi Lokonga was a player that Arteta clearly didn't trust to cover for Thomas Partey.

Having made such a sensational start to the league season, it would have been easy for Arsenal to accept this. If they had fallen away in the second half of the season - externally at least - most would have understood.

However, the Gunners opted to move from a position of strength to get even stronger. Leandro Trossard was the first player they brought in, addressing there lack of numbers in the forward areas. The Belgian's £21million transfer has been an unqualified success and as well as helping Arsenal to maintain their title push right until the very end last season, he is the club's top scorer this time around.

The club then moved to bring in Jakub Kiwior from Spezia for an initial £17.5million. The Polish international has proved to be the perfect cover for Gabriel and even filled in at left-back on occasions. From an area of concern Arsenal's centre back position now looks to be one of the strongest areas of the side with him in it.

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Finally the club moved on January transfer deadline day to bring in Jorginho from Chelsea for £12million. The Italian was not necessarily Arsenal's first choice after a lengthy and public pursuit of Moises Caicedo, but he has turned a position of weakness in Arteta's squad to one of considerable strength.

None of these players are necessarily nailed on starters as things stand, but each and every one of them has made the Arsenal squad stronger. For a combined outlay of around £50million the Gunners went from a team running out of gas in their title push to one that would have been Premier League champions were it not for a ridiculous run that saw Manchester City win every Premier League game between February and mid-May.

As they approach the festive period of the season, Arsenal find themselves in a similar position. They are just one point off City in a closely-contested title race. Across the course of this season though, it has become apparent that there are a few areas where they could do with reinforcements.

Arteta feels that defensive midfield is one of those. Partey has played just 15 minutes since August and is a player that Arsenal are open to selling when the window opens. Up front, meanwhile, there is a feeling that the Gunners could do with another striker to offer something different to Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah, or a wide player to provide cover for Bukayo Saka.

The financial constraints the club are under after a summer that saw them spend over £200million on transfers without bringing a whole lot in, means that getting quality players in those positions through the door would be difficult. But as they continue to reap the benefits of last January's shrewd spend, Arsenal should once again strike while the iron is hot.