Arsenal: 5 transfer moves to revisit in January window

Where to next? The season now officially starts as the games prior to the window closing obviously don’t count, with Mikel Arteta boasting an Arsenal squad more in tune with what he believes is capable of launching a meaningful assault on the European places.

Which European place that may be is open for interpretation as sitting bottom of the Premier League table with no points and no goals scored might have revised a few predictions before a ball was kicked.

The squad is in far better nick than it was without being anywhere near the quality required to be challenging for top four. Realistically, top six is also seemingly out of reach barring a significant turnaround.

Is this squad capable of getting back into the Europa League places? The more telling question is whether the manager is capable of achieving that with what he has.

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Arsenal: 5 transfer moves that could be revisited in January window as Mikel Arteta and Edu still have work to do despite busy summer market

All of the new additions barring one or two will need time to integrate and make that dream a reality, yet come January it may be too late, as it was last season, to find form and start pushing up the Premier League table.

Given there are still holes in this squad that are calling out for a serious injection of quality, as well as certain players still in need of being moved on, the January window could pose another opportunity for movement, whether in or out.

It’s a dreadfully difficult window to navigate through in the best of times, so throwing in the addition of the current climate and club finances, it may prove beyond their reach.

Knowing Arsenal have areas in mind and seeing that there are others who still have to be sold, there is no harm in exploring a few avenues when the new year comes around. Here are some transfer moves to revisit.

1. Central Midfield

With Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny due to jet off to AFCON at the turn of the year, Arsenal will be left with just three central midfielders to choose from.

Unfortunately, both are part of international teams who are expected to do well in the tournament.

Ghana and Egypt are among the stronger of the sides taking part in Cameroon and if injury or COVID-19 absences strike then Arteta is left even thinner in the midfield department than he already will be.

If fit it will be a duo of Sambi Lokonga and Granit Xhaka with just Ainsley Maitland-Niles to provide cover. Depending on availability, the club’s hand may be forced in January.

Known that midfield is set to feature prominently over the course of the coming windows, while the coming summer will be the preferred window to tackle any potential transfers there is no doubting that plans are already in place in case January can spring a surprise.

Of all possible incomings during the winter window, this is the one that has the best chance of being seen to.

2. Bernd Leno Sale With Possible Arrival

Bernd Leno’s days are numbered and nobody in and around the club is expecting him to be here once the 2022/23 campaign kicks off.

By the time that begins he will be in the final year of his deal and while it’s rare for goalkeepers to get transferred in the January windows with clubs usually stocked up, if a deal were proposed that matched Arsenal’s valuation (whatever that may be) then there could be some activity resembling what took place in the previous January.

Signing Mat Ryan as a stop-gap back then, if Leno were to go whoever came in would likely be as the backup to Aaron Ramsdale who looks certain to assume the No. 1 slot in due course.

How the season pans out and what Leno’s form looks like in the months leading up to January will also impact that as Ramsdale does have the chance to take over his place in the starting lineup.

Time is on his side so Arsenal will feel that they can extract value from his initial £24m addition whether he starts in the Premier League this season or the next, but things change quickly in football and if there is a club in Europe who show interest in Leno mid-season it may well be looked into.

3. Eddie Nketiah Moved on

With an entire summer to find a buyer for Eddie Nketiah, who boasts a profile that is undoubtedly of interest to a number of clubs, Arsenal failed to sanction anything at all. Not even extend his deal.

A huge failing on the club’s part, having a centre-forward on the books who is not set to play any games for the first team while sitting out his contract is hugely unwelcome.

Could he be sold in January? Well, the big sticking point is that Nketiah can sign a pre-contract agreement with another club six months before his deal concludes which means healthy terms can be agreed for the minute his Arsenal contract expires.

It will come down to how desperate he is to play and there is nothing to suggest that he is happy to sit on his weekly earnings for six more months in January at a pivotal stage of his career.

That period of the season is prime time to move strikers on as clubs aim to remedy whatever goalscoring issues they have and even if it’s just for a minimal fee then it’s a transfer that all parties will surely seek to sign off on.

4. Folarin Balogun Leaving on Loan

Now it’s confirmed that Alexandre Lacazette will play out his Arsenal contract and depart in the summer of 2022, the opportunities in the squad for Folarin Balogun to play are heavily depleted.

Still only 20 years old there is all the time for him to keep developing before he makes his hopeful mark on the senior squad, and with six months of being in and around the team every day a loan move for the second half of the season would suit him perfectly.

As with Nketiah, there is always a market for strikers in mid-season.

What could scupper any deal, however, is that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will be one of the many jetting off to AFCON in the winter, which will limit the options Arteta has at No. 9.

Lacazette will still be the leading man therefore a lot will depend on how far Gabon get in the tournament. Running from January 9 to February 6, there is every chance the captain returns before the window closes in which case the opening is there for Balogun to move out on loan.

It was a deal that should have been found in the summer window, with the only reason for it not happening perhaps being related to Arsenal clinging on hope of finding a buyer for Lacazette. You’d hope so anyway, as Balogun not even making EFL Cup second round squads is hardly beneficial to his development.

5. Cedric Departing in Some Capacity

While there is still scope for him to leave before the Norwich game, it looks unlikely. Cedric remains keen on fighting for his place (picking up his wage?) under Arteta and despite interest in him from Turkey nothing seems to be materialising.

Understandably so, he’s on a big salary and isn’t especially good.

Come January, however, Takehiro Tomiyasu may have had an outstanding four months in the right-back slot and completely nailed the position down as his own, meanwhile Calum Chambers may have shed a few pounds and returned to form vaguely similar to that he produced at the tail end of last season.

It would come as little surprise to see Arsenal explore a possible exit for Cedric in the winter window. They’re probably already looking at it now.

He seems like a genuine person and understandably will feel comfortable in north London but if he doesn’t kick a ball for four months then his desire for minutes will be called into play. At 29 years old will he really be content rotting on the bench for a whole season?

If there are interested parties then by that point surely all sides will seek a solution.