Who is the One Player Arsenal Should Have Signed?

The transfer window is shut and the grade has been posted. So let the hindsight ramblings begin. Who is the one player you wish Arsenal would have signed this January? We were linked to just about every player that was even partially available, so let’s highlight a few.

Defensively, there weren’t as many links as you would have expected. Gabriel Paulista was the answer, but he was also the very last name to emerge. Before him, there was Mats Hummels, Hector Moreno, Kevin Grosskreutz, Sergio Ramos, and more.

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Hummels and Ramos fell into the ‘too expensive’ category, but then again, isn’t it an established fact that Arsenal have some of the deepest pockets in the world? Why couldn’t we have signed a big-name defender?

In the midfield department, Arsenal were linked to even more names. Ilkay Gundogan, Marco Reus, Marcelo Brozovic, Romulo, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Asier Illaramendi, Isco, Radja Nainggolan, William Carvalho, and more.

The only two that ever appeared likely were Romulo and Marcelo Brozovic, as both were cheap with plenty of potential. Yet both still could have made a first-team impact.

Despite picking up steam, Ilkay Gundogan never materialized. It was likely his price tag combined with the fact that he isn’t technically a defensive-minded midfielder.

Krychowiak would have been great, but his release clause and current form prevented any such move.

And then there were the gobs of strikers.

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Arsenal were linked to everyone short of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. We were, however, liked to Luis Suarez, Karim Benzema, Edinson Cavani, Mattia Destro, Paolo Dybala, and more. It would have been nice to see Wenger retain even one of the strikers he loaned out, but it is what it is.

Paolo Dybala could still be a legitimate option, as could Mattia Destro, but that will all have to wait until the summer. Arsenal may be a bit short-staffed up front, but Olivier Giroud is the perfect number one striker for Arsenal. Obviously Cavani and Benzema would be swell additions, but this is the real world and Arsene Wenger would never drop 60 million pounds on a striker, although that won’t stop the future rumors of their imminent arrivals.

Oh yeah, we were linked to goalkeepers as well.

Petr Cech and Neto topped the list of keepers that were supposedly headed to the Emirates, with a couple other names populating the list as well. Apparently whoever composed these rumors forgot that we bought David Ospina in the summer, and that he is doing incredibly well.

So there’s a quick recap of most of Arsenal’s options. I left out some of the more laughable rumors for my own sanity’s sake, but now it’s up to you. Given the aforementioned names, who should Arsenal have signed? Or, if you want to be a stickler, add your own name. Better yet, are you pleased with the crop of talent Arsenal did bring in, and similarly, will it be enough?

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