While it is normally the thought of potential arrivals that supporters tend to get excited about on transfer deadline day, the focus has been on moving on those who have been labelled by fans as 'dead wood' at Arsenal this month.
The club has been under increased financial strain due to their inability to qualify for the Champions League, and with every season they fail to qualify for Europe's premier competition, the situation becomes worse.
That is partly down to their outlay on player salaries - they've had to honour big contracts handed to underperforming players.
Undoubtedly, the most high-profile player the club have managed to cut ties with during this window is Mesut Ozil, who departed for boyhood club Fenerbahce. The German was earning a reported £350k per week at the Emirates Stadium, and given he wasn't even registered to play, you can understand why the Gunners were keen to move him on even prior to the expiration of his contract in the summer.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos, another said to have been on big wages, also overlooked by Mikel Arteta when registering his squads in domestic and European competition, similarly had his contract terminated and joined Olympiacos.
Sead Kolasinac has rejoined former club Schalke on loan and it appears Shkodran Mustafi, who is believed to be earning something in the region of £90k per week, is also closing in on a move to the Bundesliga side.
Although all three of these players' contracts were due to expire at the end of the season, it is thought Arsenal stand to make a saving between now and the summer by releasing them immediately. But perhaps more significantly, they can begin to plan for the next window right away.
A complete overhaul of the squad has been needed for some time and having struggled to move on as many players as they'd have liked in the summer, largely due to the contract situations of those mentioned above and the impact of the global pandemic, it was imperative solutions were found as soon as possible.
In terms of arrivals, Martin Ødegaard has joined on loan for the remainder of the season from Real Madrid, as has Brighton's Maty Ryan. Arteta has successfully addressed two positions he felt he was lacking cover in and although they're both loan deals, the financial situation the club finds itself in has meant he and Edu have had to get creative.
The Arsenal boss has found himself under intense scrutiny this season but despite having been in the role for over a year now, Arteta's rebuild is only just beginning. The squad is trimmer and free of overpaid players tying them down.
Even if the Gunners fail to bring in another player before the deadline, this transfer window will have still been a success.
Source : 90min