The taunts were heard well into the evening.

They came first from the away end at the King Power Stadium as Arsene Wenger was barracked by supporters agitated by the absence of a compelling, recognised striker in their squad, with another gibe delivered loudly from the east of London. This came at about five o'clock, when Chelsea confirmed they had signed Loic Remy for £10.5m.

The French forward was a target for Arsenal and remains a player capable of scoring regularly in the Barclays Premier League - his goal tally for Newcastle United last season reached 14. The sight of Remy lifting up a Chelsea jersey will have turned the air blue in the households of Arsenal supporters frustrated by a manager who has still to react to the loss of Olivier Giroud to a broken tibia.

Wenger has seen space for a striker in his squad in the past and has tried to fill it with small, technically-gifted midfielders. Such a gap became a void yesterday as Leicester City collected a point at home to the London club, with Leonardo Ulloa scored just two minutes after Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean has been Arsenal's marquee signing this summer - albeit Monaco's Falcao has reportedly been offered to Arsenal and Manchester City - but is neither comfortable nor at his most effective when obliged to lead the line.

Yaya Sanogo auditioned for the role yesterday too but may not be given a call back, while Lukas Podolski appears out of favour. Perhaps more unpopular for Wenger, though, was the insistence from fans that he must recruit another striker before the transfer window closes today.

"As long as the transfer market is open it makes everyone dream by thinking the solution is always somewhere but it's not necessarily obvious," said the Arsenal manager. "The solution every time you don't win is to buy someone. We are out there and we'll try our best and you have to trust us.

"You can't think every time you don't win a game there's a miracle man who can win you the game. Why did Manchester City not win against Stoke? They have plenty of strikers. Football is a team sport and we cannot sell it too much as an individual sport."

There had perhaps been evidence of that at White Hart Lane. Mario Balotelli made his debut for Liverpool, was the main focus for many of those watching but looked on as a bystander as his side won 3-0. Instead Raheem Sterling scored the opening goal, before Steven Gerrard converted a controversial penalty after the break. Eric Dier had pulled at Joe Allen in the penalty box, with the Liverpool midfielder crumpling in a heap.

Liverpool added a third goal when Alberto Moreno galloped down the left flank and lashed the ball into the net. "Mario was excellent. You could see his team ethic - he was pressing, working for us as much as he could," said Brendan Rodgers, the Liverpool manager, of his newest signing. "Take away the circus that surrounds him and control the background noise and get him focused on his football, and he's a good fella."

Burnley fans will hope to be similarly satisfied with George Boyd this season, with the Scotland internationalist expected to join today in a £3m move from Hull City. The forward was not in the Hull squad yesterday as they lost to Aston Villa, who remain unbeaten in the league.