Arsenal: The January test for new-look Gunners

This is a very different Arsenal to what the club looked like only a matter months ago. And with a series of issues to solve this January, this new set-up has a big test pass.

The coming January could prove to be one of the most important January transfer windows in the recent history of Arsenal football club. It could well determine how the Gunners would fare at the end of the season.

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They need to be a little more specific and resolute in their approaches in the coming transfer window and this could also prove to be a big test for Raul Sanllehi and Vinai Venkatesham.

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The rumors have started playing their role as the window nears and Arsenal’s need for a proper winger grows. They may have been winning games recently but it can be seen that the team still lacks real width on both the flanks and doesn’t seem to have a guy who can take on defenders one on one and dribble past them to create chances for the main strike force. The departure of natural wingers like Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott last year has left the team with a limited number of options, with Unai Emery forced into using imperfect fits out wide like Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Makeshift wingers like Aubameyang, Ozil, and also Danny Welbeck have performed satisfactorily, but they pose more threat when they play in their natural positions. They have failed to deliver in particular crunch situations where the role of a natural wingman comes into play and have failed to act as ball carriers, which is the most basic duty of a winger. Thus, a natural winger would hopefully be able to fill those gaps and provide the team with the width they have been lacking this season.

Furthermore, with the departure of Aaron Ramsey looking increasingly likely every day, the time has come for ‘Diamond Eye’, Sven Mislintat, to deliver once again. He has played a major role in acquiring gems like Konstantinos Mavropanos, Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira. And who could forget the masterstroke he played when Pierre Emerick Aubameyang signed last January?

It will also be worth seeing how things fare after the departure of Ivan Gazidis. He was the central figure at the club, the man who engineered the succession plan from Arsene Wenger, and the main instigator and builder of the foundations of this new era.

With all these changes at the club, from the manager to the board level, it will be fascinating to see how the winter transfer window is navigated. That is an even more poignant question when the needs of the team and the uncertain futures of some key players, namely Ramsey, are factored into the equation. There is a whole lot to sort out and Arsenal will be doing so with a whole bunch of new figures.

Will they go all out in January and spend big to get the things done or will it be a quiet January for the Gunners? How will the Ramsey situation resolve itself? What will the dynamic be between the coach and the personnel decision makers? Only time will tell but I will be fascinated to find out.