Could Arsenal’s lack of midfield options prove detrimental?

Here we sit, supposed to be glowing in the aftermath of the Gunners’ Carabao Cup semi-final clash with Liverpool. However, after the EFL agreed to postpone the match at Liverpool’s request, Arsenal are left sitting on our hands for a few more days.

With the January transfer window now over a week old, it was perhaps a blessing in disguise for Arsenal. Having a decent break before the FA Cup match-up against Nottingham Forest will help players’ fitness, but there is one potentially troubling situation on the horizon.

The Gunners were already a little thin in the middle of the park, but now with Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny both departing for the African Cup of Nations, along with Ainsley Maitland-Niles to Roma on a loan deal, suddenly, the engine room resembles a spare parts section of the squad.

Granit Xhaka and Albert Sambi Lokonga are the only bonafide central midfield options for Mikel Arteta. That is a problem. You could add in Emile Smith Rowe and Martin Odegaard, however, they are more forward-thinking players and their skillsets are limited in deeper areas.

Could Arsenal’s lack of midfield options be their undoing – Arteta will have to act fast in the January transfer market

Given that the January transfer window has been notoriously quiet for the Gunners in terms of big signings, barring the obvious, there needs to be some reinforcements come in, whether that be a loan or permanently. Good thing, then, that Arteta confirmed his side are seeking to bolster that area. Word is a bid has been lodged for Palmeiras’ Danilo, too.

Arsenal plays four games in 11 days: Nottingham Forest (FA Cup), Tottenham (Premier League), and Liverpool twice (EFL Cup). There is a real chance that the Gunners could be knocked out of both domestic competitions along with losing ground in the top-four race. All potentially due to a lack of player availability.

Several names have been mentioned over recent weeks, the most high-profile one being Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic. However, he would do little to aid the midfield problem.

Just as Partey was hitting his stride with a world-class performance against Manchester City, now Arsenal will be without him for the next five or so matches, depending on how far Ghana goes in the competition.

The duo of Xhaka and Lokonga has been deployed before with varying outcomes. The problem is that if it does not work, Arteta has no alternatives in the middle of the park.

One possible outcome is a short-term loan, much like Martin Odegaard’s last season, as a permanent deal is hard to get over the line in the middle of the season. It does go against the recruitment strategy at the club, though. Arteta’s willingness to allow Maitland-Niles to be loaned to Roma is a sure-fire signal that at least one player is coming to the Emirates.

Maitland-Niles could have had a good run in the team with both Partey and Elneny out, so for him to be loaned, Arteta must have a move or two up his sleeve.

For the fanbase, they sure hope so.

After a poor start to the season in which Arsenal lost three consecutive games, conceding nine goals and scoring zero, they were rooted to the bottom of the league table. But fast forward a couple of months and the Gunners are in fourth spot in the league table with a +8 goal differential.

Such hard work has gone into steadying the ship after the poor start, that poor player management could see the Gunners bereft of availability when they need it most.

For Arteta’s and Arsenal’s sake, they better speed up their plan for January regarding player incomings or all the hard work the players and club have done to get themselves into such a promising position could be lost. How “Arsenal” would that be?