15 Arsenal Transfer Rumors To Follow In January

Arsenal need strengthening and the January transfer window is here. Here are fifteen rumors to follow as the drama goes haywire.

January is herr. That means the transfer window is open again. That means that there will be dozens of players linked to an Arsenal move and very little coming in.

If we have learned anything about Arsenal so far this season, it is that they are still incredibly susceptible to injuries. Even at their strongest position, midfield, Arsenal has been stretched thin. Francis Coquelin’s injury spelled exactly what we all expected it would spell – doom. Meanwhile, an injury to Alexis Sanchez is a major concern as well. The only thing that could make this any worse would be injuries to Petr Cech and Mesut Ozil. What then?

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The point is that Arsenal need reinforcements. Arsene Wenger said that he wants to strengthen the team in January. But what does he actually mean? He has already backed Mathieu Flamini and Calum Chambers to fill Coquelin’s absence. Likewise, he is going to see the return of Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck and Tomas Rosicky as better than transfers.

No doubt those three will be useful additions, but as far as prolonged reliability, there is none. Rosicky is moving on at the end of the year, Wilshere is an injury machine and Welbeck has proven to be a hard worker that can’t score. Arsene Wenger really does need to buy someone. Not just for the sake of buying someone. But for the sake of having more players to choose from.

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Wenger griped that he could not sit Alexis Sanchez because he was starved of options. Well, one more signing means one more option. Suddenly, the team is set.

This list is dedicated to rumors worth watching. As such, you will not find the likes of Edinson Cavani or Karim Benzema on here. They are like the Voldermort’s of the transfer window. You also won’t find John Stones. There is no reason to believe that a £30 million bid from Chelsea (that was rejected) will be matched by Arsenal.

What you will find on this list are rumors that are either believable, within Arsenal’s price range, within Arsenal’s needs, or rumors that have just stuck around for so long that they have to be addressed (not including £60 million strikers).

With that in mind, let’s get started with our 15 January transfer rumors to keep an eye on. We will start at the position that we know we need more than anything else (no, not striker).

15. William Carvalho

There was a time when he was the primary defensive midfield target for Arsenal. However, after having a reported initial bid rejected, the Gunners jumped ship on their interest. It just so happened that shortly after that happened, Sporting CP realized that Carvalho probably should have been sold for the price that was offered, but it was too late.

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Or so it seemed.

Now, with Arsenal desperate for midfield reinforcements, it looks like the 23-year old is back on their ‘wish list’. The Portuguese midfielder has revealed his fondness for Arsenal as recently as October, but such revelations do not always lead to good things. Just ask Moussa Sissoko.

Carvalho missed the first three months of the season due to a stress fracture in his tibia but for the most part, he is continuing right where he left off.

Carvalho is an interesting target. His youth could lead to a prolonged career at Arsenal. And yet, at 23 years of age he is still displaying some lapses in maturity on the pitch. All of that can be fixed in time, though.

On the next slide (click below), we move on to number 14, another defensive midfielder (there are plenty on this list).

Next: Number 14