Arsenal: Possible starting XI with Ivan Perisic and Christopher Nkunku

Unai Emery has stated that Arsenal are trying to sign two more players this January. Assuming they are Ivan Perisic and Christopher Nkunku, this how the Gunners could line up next month.

I never really get my hopes up for Arsenal in the transfer market. Even when all the fanciful rumours are flying around, I tend not to pay that much attention. Years have taught me that rarely are the Gunners highly active in a window, especially a winter one.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — Man. Utd Madness; Transfer Travesty

So when the January transfer window commenced this year, I did not really expect much whatsoever. But with just a handful of days remaining, it seems as though Arsenal will end with the window with loan acquisitions. As Unai Emery confirmed in a press conference on Monday:

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"“We are looking at two different players and the possibility they can come.”"

Given the current reports, I would guess that these two players are Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic and versatile Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Christopher Nkunku. Denis Suarez could also be the subject of Emery’s comment, but that deal seems stuck with Barcelona unwilling to accept an option rather than an obligation to buy in the summer.

Assuming the pair arrive in north London, then, it begs the question: How will Emery set up his Arsenal team with two new players?

Because of injuries and a thin squad, Emery has found changing the team difficult this season, with his options a little limited. Perisic and Nkunku would both open up more avenues to explore, that much is certain.

It would be fair to expect Perisic to insert on the left wing. The Croatian international has forged a career of being a creator and goalscorer from off the flank and is proven to be more productive than Alex Iwobi, the current starting left winger. That would likely leave with Alexandre Lacazette through the middle and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the right.

Nkunku is a more difficult prospect to peg, however. Because of his versatility, he can be used in several different ways. It could be that he does not make the starting XI, with Emery happy with Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira in holding midfield. There is the chance that he could push Aaron Ramsey out the team or even line up on the right wing, if Emery prefers a more natural wide attacker to Aubameyang, but it feels that Nkunku would be at the Emirates simply to provide flexible depth.

If there is one position that is there for the taking, then it is right-back. Hector Bellerin is out for the rest of the season, Stephan Lichtsteiner has underwhelmed all year, and Ainsley Maitland-Niles was poor against Manchester United. Whether Nkunku has the defensive nous to play at full-back, I am not sure. But it may be his best path into a starting role.

How Emery would use Nkunku and Perisic remains to be seen. They might not even be in the starting XI, for all I know. But one thing is clear. Arsenal now have flexibility and alternative options. And that is all this pauper could ask for when January started.