Arsenal's Premier League campaign got off to a disastrous start with a 2-0 defeat away to Brentford and Mikel Arteta must now act quickly with daunting tasks against Chelsea and Manchester City on the horizon.
Even when it is taken into account that they were missing a host of key players, the Gunners' performance against Brentford was woeful and there are many issues that need to be addressed.
Here's a look at what Arsenal need to sort in an attempt to ensure they don't end up with zero points out of a possible nine from their first three games.
More tactical freedom
It is clear that Arsenal need greater variety in their game and there is an overreliance on Emile Smith Rowe and Kieran Tierney to create chances, with the latter frequently pushing forward from left-back and delivering crosses.
Under Arteta Arsenal's play seems too precise, with players seemingly not permitted to take risks and often electing for the safe pass as opposed to driving forward.
Arteta needs to give Nicolas Pepe, for instance, more licence to come infield on some occasions and have an impact on the game.
Gabriel Martinelli seemed to be under specific instructions as he drifted inside to provide space for Tierney to push forward but this often resulted in the Brazilian becoming a peripheral figure himself. Arsenal weren't making the most of their best assets.
Drop Pablo Mari
Arsenal are currently without Gabriel due to injury, with Pablo Mari having been given a start against Brentford.
As has been the case on several other occasions, Mari struggled, with the centre-back not strong enough physically while his positional sense is also questionable.
Arteta's options in terms of replacing Mari are somewhat restricted at present, but he can bring in Rob Holding, who is capable of playing on the left side of the centre-back pairing.
Holding himself isn't the most reliable player but he should offer more authority than Mari, who will end up costing Arsenal more points if he is persisted with.
Against the creative players that Chelsea and City possess, starting Mari would be a huge risk.
Holding may also prove to be a better central defensive partner for new £50million signing Ben White, who found matters difficult against Brentford.
Sign a goalkeeper
This may be easier said than done given the difficulties of the transfer market, but Arsenal need to bring in a goalkeeper who can challenge or even replace Bernd Leno.
The German is capable of making fantastic saves at times but makes positional errors and struggles with playing out from the back.
It is clear that Leno needs competition. Alex Runarsson wasn't in the squad against Brentford, so 19-year-old Karl Hein was on the bench.
Having been unwilling to meet Sheffield United's asking price for Aaron Ramsdale, Arsenal may have to turn their attention elsewhere.
Barcelona's Neto has been linked with Arsenal, but the club certainly need to sign a shot-stopper imminently to compete with Leno.
Start Bukayo Saka
Saka missed the majority of pre-season after representing England at Euro 2020 but was brought on for the final half an hour against Brentford, and, while he wasn't at his sharpest, the winger still helped to improve Arsenal's attacking play.
With another week of training under his belt, Saka should be ready to start at home to Chelsea on Sunday, and Arsenal will certainly need him.
Last season Saka, singlehandedly at times, dragged his team out of difficult situations, with his creativity proving difficult for defenders to deal with.
Saka is also capable of combining effectively with fellow youngster Smith Rowe, with the pair having both impressed in the corresponding fixture against Chelsea last season, which Arsenal won 3-1.
Provide clarity on Aubameyang and Lacazette
Even though their consistency can fluctuate and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been a shadow of his usual self for some time, it was clear that Arsenal missed both the Gabon striker and Alexandre Lacazette against Brentford.
Arteta stated that both players were missing through illness but there have been suggestions that the problem could be somewhat deeper.
Gary Neville, for instance, said on his Sky Sports podcast: 'You can see tonight in his interview after the game... I don't know if there is something in the Aubameyang and Lacazette in the pre-match, to be fair.
'I thought there was a little bit of something there where he talked about they are ill earlier on today, that's all I can say. It was a bit short.
'I never quite know if there's some problems deeper, whether he likes his players and I really worry when a manager doesn't like some of the dressing room.'
There have been tentative links to Barcelona being interested in the strikers but Arsenal need to address this situation.
With all the other problems they have, Arsenal don't need this cloud hanging over them as well.
If Aubameyang and Lacazette are unavailable against Chelsea, Arteta needs to provide a detailed explanation why and an indication of when they will be back. Otherwise, the speculation and uncertainty will only increase.
Overall, there is much work for Arteta to do in a short space of time but he does have resources to use in an attempt to improve matters, and starting Saka in particular would give Arsenal a huge boost.
However, if the defeat to Brentford is followed by two further losses it will inevitably cause further questions to be asked regarding Arteta's capability for the job.