3 reasons Arsenal might not sign a midfielder in January

It’s January 18th, 2022, and Arsenal have not completed any transfers this winter window. They’ve been busy enough, sanctioning a host of loan departures, but fans are hooked on what happens the other way.

With the chance at securing a place in a cup final coming this Thursday as the Gunners host Liverpool in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final, the window to bring someone in before the deadline is narrowing.

Even is Mikel Arteta and co were to miraculously get someone in before the registration time, thrusting some new signing, likely from abroad, into midfield in a game of this magnitude against opposition of this level is an unenviable welcoming.

But it is in midfield where Arsenal are thin. Even more so off the back of Granit Xhaka’s red card in the first leg.

3 reasons Arsenal might not sign a midfielder in January despite Mikel Arteta eyeing reinforcements

The Swiss will miss two matches through suspension, leaving Albert Sambi Lokonga as the sole senior option, and even when all the parts return and Arteta has Xhaka, Thomas Partey, Mohamed Elneny and Sambi to select from, injuries and Covid absences may well produce similarly depleted scenarios.

Albeit only really the Premier League left to contend with, you always run the risk of limiting yourself with fewer options. Hence why links to Arthur have been prevalent all month and is, as far as it seems, just one Juventus replacement away from being signed off.

Is it entirely certain that Arsenal will sign a midfielder, though? It would appear crazy to think they wouldn’t, yet amid all the kerfuffle, there are reasons why Arteta might not dip into the market after all.

Imagine the outrage, eh?

1. Thomas Partey Will be Back Soon

Remember AFCON? That magnificent competition that, while being magnificent, can be detrimental to respective clubs’ aspirations during a season? Well, it’s not really having all that big of an impact on Arsenal – although it did save Xhaka’s bacon.

The ongoing farce around match postponements is seeing games called off left, right and centre, with the very real possibility that Arsenal will only have three games this month where the AFCON quartet are unavailable for.

Yet another Burnley match has been called off on the Clarets’ request, and it plunges Sunday’s visit of the side into doubt as well. Should that game be postponed then Arsenal will have a 40-day break between facing Manchester City and their next Premier League match away to Wolves on February 10.

Even if Burnley goes ahead, Ghana have looked mostly dreadful during AFCON and you’d be unwise to bank on them making the last four of the competition. They might not even get out of their group.

The final and third-place play-offs are penciled in for February 6, and Egypt aren’t exactly pulling up trees either in their quest to get there.

So it may transpire that Arsenal will be looking stronger by the time their next league game comes around, and with the Premier League near enough all there is left, Arteta might feel he needn’t dip in just yet.

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2. Youri Tielemans & Bruno Guimaraes Aren’t Available in January

Arsenal have been on the pursuit of Arthur this window, but does anyone truly believe he was a long-term target for the club? It was unlikely anyway, and the proposed deal being just a loan move backs up that thought.

If there was someone to come in during the January window the preference would be for them to be summer targets who were fast-tracked. Arthur does not fit that bill.

There are those who do, and both offer more enticing propositions.

Bruno Guimaraes is not only a fans’ favourite pick, but someone Arsenal have been tracking for quite some time. There were links last summer as well as more rumours this winter, with Edu also having a close relationship with countryman Juninho, who is sporting director at Lyon. However, it was considered too difficult of a move to pull off this window, as well as being expensive, and the summer looks set to be when the midfielder does eventually move on.

It’s a similar scenario with Youri Tielemans at Leicester. Arsenal held talks with his agent at London Colney over a potential move, and with the Belgian having just 12 months left on his deal by the end of the season, should Arsenal secure Champions League football by then they will be an enticing option for the 24-year-old.

Arteta is a huge fan of both players – there will definitely be others on the list – and with neither being available this month, he might be keen to hold on.

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3. Granit Xhaka’s Future Will Impact Midfield Signing

Performing quite the u-turn when his seemingly inevitable move to Roma turned into a new contract at Arsenal, the move quelled any notion of Xhaka leaving north London any time soon.

He’s returned from injury and become and integral part of the team, just as he continues to have doubters among the fanbase who see him as an individual in this squad who can be improved upon.

Now with over two years left on his deal there is reason to believe he could be here to stay all the way through until the end of the 2023/24 season. But nothing is cut and dry in this industry and while the idea of ‘protecting his value’ remains a bizarre justification to hand him a new deal, it doesn’t mean other clubs won’t lose interest.

If he did stay for just one more season this term on account of some form of agreement with the club, then his departure would alter what it is that Arsenal choose to do in the summer window. Should Xhaka and Partey remain as the first choice midfield duo going into the following campaign, Arteta might be more keen to find a long-term replacement for Xhaka to grow into the position.

Consequentially, if he does move on then there becomes a leadership vacancy in the squad as well as a drop off in experience in central midfield. That could in turn call for a different purchase, perhaps for someone who may have been around the block a bit more, as well as another acquisition since Arsenal are certain to need more than one in the summer with Maitland-Niles and Elneny departing.

In this window Arsenal could still move for the younger long-term option and save the Xhaka replacement for the summer. But Arteta and co are taking a meticulous approach to the squad building with specific profiles and characters desired. For that reason, as well as other mentioned, they may feel that holding off until the summer would be best.