Noah Schroyer
The gunners have jumped out to an absolute dream start this season tallying 27 out of a possible 30 points. At the time of writing, Arsenal have a four point advantage over Manchester City and north London rivals Tottenham. However, Arsenal are ill-prepared to keep this momentum going into and coming out of the world cup.
With star players like Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Thomas Partey, and Granit Xhaka guaranteed to be on the plane to Qatar, the Gunners can not afford any injuries if they aspire to challenge for the Premier League this season. Arsenal’s transfer strategy will truly be put to the test this January window as players will be at a premium due to selling club’s needs and the inflation of player values coming out of the world cup.
Current Squad
Taking a look at the needs of the squads the entire starting XI is in form and the chemistry of the squad is top tier. However, there are quite a few areas on the pitch where the depth is not where it needs to be to contend with a squad the size of Manchester City. In defense Arsenal are solid with two players that could both start at right back, three that have started at left back and four players that could do that job at center back.
The midfield and attack is where things become shaky. An injury to Odegaard could prove to be catastrophic. However, Fabio Vieira has shown promise and Emile Smith Rowe will be returning from injury after the world cup. If Xhaka or Partey go down the choices to play in those positions are either Mohamed Elneny who is currently injured or Sambi Lokonga who has been shaky at times.
In attack, an injury to Saka or Martinelli would require Emile Smith Rowe to play out wide which is not his preferred position or move Jesus from striker to the wing meaning Nketiah would start at Stiker. Something similar would happen if Jesus was out where Nketiah or Martinelli would be seen as the number nine.
Needs
Mikel Arteta has shown promise as a manager by being adaptable to the squad he has at his disposal in previous seasons.This season Arsenal have started every game in a 4-2-3-1 and have been able to force their style of play on their opponents through this formation. For the sake of discussion we are going to assume Arteta will continue to play this formation when looking at
potential players. The three positions we are going to take a look at for the winter window will be a winger with potential to play on both sides, a midfielder behind Xhaka and a midfielder behind Partey.
Winger
As mentioned earlier Arsenal are looking for a player that can offer cover on both the left and right. Current backup Reiss Nelson does not offer the quality and Marquinhos lacks the experience but is an exciting prospect. In the summer Arsenal was chasing two key signatures, Pedro Neto and Mykhaylo Mudryk. Wolverhampton are in turmoil with a new manager to be hired soon and are unlikely to sell Neto unless he attempts to force a move to the Emirates in January. Even then, the price Arsenal will be forced to pay will not be reasonable for a backup winger in January.
The second option, Mykhaylo Mudryk, is looking to be the likely choice for Arsenal. Everton had a bid of 30 million rejected by the Ukrainian giants. The rising star has already increased his stock this season with two goals and two assists in the champions league this season. He also has one goal and five assists in just five appearances in Ukraine’s top flight. If Mudryk were to join Arsenal this January it would be for a price in the range of 40-50 million euros.
Midfield Depth
When taking a look at Arsenal’s midfield options there are two players that need to come in the door and one out. The out for Arsenal needs to be Sambi Lokonga given an opportunity on loan in another top league in Europe.
Throughout the summer Lokonga was linked to a move to the San Siro that would have seen him spend a season on loan. The move was even approved by Mikel Arteta during the summer window. The deal eventually fell through as Arsenal needed him to stay in case there were injury problems in midfield. It is likely with one or two midfield arrivals in January Lokonga will be going the other way to gain valuable game time.
Douglas Luiz has taken himself off the list of potential transfer targets for the Gunners after signing a brand new deal with Aston Villa. There are however still three targets that Arsenal could push for this January window. They are Tielemans of Leicester City, Locatelli of Juventus, and Danilo of Palmeiras.
Tielemans would be the midfield option to share minutes with an in-form Granit Xhaka. Leicester had previously rejected potential moves for the midfielder who had expressed a desire to leave in the summer. In ten appearances this season Tielemans has registered just a goal and assist. With only six months left on his contract, Tielemans will likely cost the Gunners around 10 million euros to secure him in January instead of the following summer on a free.
The other two options who would be sharing minutes with Thomas Partey are Manuel Locatelli and Danilo. Locatelli seems to be on the chopping block for Juventus manager Max Allegri as he looks to revolutionize their squad. Arsenal had previously made an attempt to sign the Italian international in 2021 before he signed with the old lady. Danilo is an up and coming Brazilian talent that is looking to make an impact for a big club in Europe. Danilo has made 52 appearances for Palmeiras in all competitions tallying seven goals and four assists in the process. The Brazilian is yet to make a cap for his country but will be anticipating a move to one of Europe’s top five leagues for a price of roughly 35 million euros to establish himself in the Brazil setup.
The Miracle
Of the options that have been discussed there are three clear choices for the Gunners. For the winger it has to be Mudryk. At this moment Neto is yet to offer a goal contribution for Wolves this season and Mudryk is the obvious man in form. In the midfield, Youri Tielemans and Danilo both should be pursued once again, this time completing a deal for both. With the addition of Mudryk, Tielemans, and Danilo, for a combined fee of 95 million euros, Arsenal will have not only the depth but also the quality to challenge serial title winners Manchester City.
