Paul Merson has warned Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger that he may have blown his hopes of winning the Premier League title by only signing Mohamed Elneny.
Wenger confirmed on Monday that he had been considering "at least" one move in the January transfer window but had not added additional players due to the "rarity" of options that would have improved the first-team squad.
Arsenal's only business on deadline day saw two departures as Yaya Sanogo (Charlton) and Mathieu Debuchy (Bordeaux) went out on loan until the end of the season.
His limited action in the market came as several leading first-teamers swelled his first team ranks, with Alexis Sanchez, Francis Coquelin and (albeit briefly) Tomas Rosicky returning to the squad in January.
However Merson believes that the failure to sign a striker for the third consecutive window could leave Wenger dangerously short if the in-form Olivier Giroud has to miss out.
"Mohamed Elneny is nowhere near enough," Merson told Sky Sports. "They definitely needed a defensive midfield player, but also a forward.
"If Olivier Giroud gets injured then can Theo Walcott come in and score enough goals in the last 15 games?"
Danny Welbeck's return from injury is set to add to Wenger's striking options in the coming weeks, with the 25-year-old set to make his first appearance in over nine months in an under-21s fixture on Friday.
