Arsenal may be feeling frustrated after their start to the new Premier League season, as the Gunners were fortunate to beat Leicester City on the opening weekend and saw their defence exposed once again yesterday by Stoke City.

Jese Rodriguez capitalised on woeful defending from the Gunners to score a debut goal and a match winner at the Bet365 stadium yesterday, which puts Arsenal under immense pressure ahead of next weekend’s crucial game with Liverpool.

Arsenal’s defensive frailties came in a game where Arsene Wenger elected to play two natural wide defenders in a central position, Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac, despite having Per Mertesacker, Rob Holding and Calum Chambers available- and even approving a sale of Gabriel Paulista this week to Valencia.

With just a few weeks to go in the transfer window, Arsene Wenger has been left in a position where his side is crying out for new signings and fans may be extremely annoyed at the Gunners lack of movement since finalising a club-record deal for Alexandre Lacazette.

The North London side’s defence needs bolstering, as it lacks the depth required to play with a three-man defence, and Arsenal should look to sign a top-class central defender to play alongside Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi in the first-choice line-up.

It’s not just the defence that needs improving though as the Gunners midfield was also out of sorts in the defeat to Stoke, with Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey often out of position, leaving attacking starlet Mesut Ozil as the deepest midfielder at times.

Xhaka has impressed in recent weeks but needs a more stable defensive-minded partner to play alongside him, which would also allow Aaron Ramsey to play in a more attacking role behind the striker- potentially establishing himself as a key-player and a figure who could stand as a leader in the coming years.

Finally, Arsenal need to work to ensure they have the ability required if they are to lose key-men. Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain continue to be linked with exits, and as it stands will be available on a free transfer next summer, so the Gunners need to ensure they have a back-up plan and aren’t overly reliant on this duo.

Paris Saint-Germain’s Julian Draxler is certainly the ideal signing for the Gunners, as he could replace either Oxlade-Chamberlain or Alexis Sanchez, and the fact he’s still just 23-years-old means he could be developed into a star.

Unfortunately, Wenger’s focus in the final weeks of the campaign is clearing deadwood from the club, a task that needs to be completed, but it will count for nothing unless Arsenal improve their ranks in key areas.