Arsenal’s January transfer mess comes home to roost

After four consecutive victories in December, Arsenal looked to be in pole position to clinch the coveted fourth spot in the Premier League table.

Following the defeat to Brighton, however, and with Spurs romping to a 4-0 win at Aston Villa, it looks unlikely that Arsenal will be making a return to the Champions League next season.

It will be endlessly frustrating for Arsenal fans, who invested so much hope and energy, to support the side, which is seemingly crumbling as the pressure is dialed up. Painfully, Spurs look even better. The trajectories of both sides couldn’t be more stark: Spurs have won their last four, while Arsenal have lost three of their last four.

Arteta’s critical mistake can be traced back to January. The Spaniard made a decision to exclude Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from the squad, leaving Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah as the only striker options. Gabriel Martinelli can play there, but has previously flattered to deceive when deployed as the lone striker.

Mikel Arteta’s mess of a January transfer window is damaging Arsenal and looks to have killed their chances of a top four finish

Aubameyang’s form was not exhilarating, but discarding an important striker in the squad and not replacing him – even temporarily on a six-month loan – was a fundamental mistake that looks to have cost Arsenal a top four berth.

Lacazette, for all his link-up advantages over Aubameyang, does not possess the pace or instinct to threaten defences and, crucially, score goals. Moreover, Lacazette is out of contract at the end of the season, and so is Nketiah, for whom a bid from Crystal Palace was reportedly rejected.

Hanging your hat on two strikers soon to be whisked out the door is stunningly naive. Lacazette has no skin in the game and it shows in recent games.

In midfield, Arteta sanctioned the loaning of Ainsley Maitland-Niles to Roma, where he has not featured for several matches. It is worth remembering the club rejected offers for him in both summer windows in 2020 and 2021.

Arsenal are consequently weaker in midfield. Albert Sambi Lokonga continues to flounder as Maitland-Niles languishes on Roma’s bench. In fairness to Lokonga, Arteta threw him in the deep end without a life jacket by playing him essentially as the sole central midfielder against Brighton despite precious little playing time this calendar year. With Thomas Partey set to be out for the remainder of the season, sanctioning the loans for these players now looks like a season-defining error.

The club dillied and dallied in January, flirting with bringing players like Arthur Melo and Dusan Vlahovic in, but ultimately could not pull either deal off due them being being either too expensive or simply impossible.

Meanwhile, Spurs acquired Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski, who have slotted in seamlessly and improved the side significantly.

Some Arsenal fans showered praise on Arteta’s January dealings, heralding it as a masterstroke in saving wages and streamlining the squad. But trimming the squad also meant – as we are seeing – injuries will be more strongly felt.

A return to the Champions League was there for the taking with United and Spurs disrupted by managerial changes, but the chronic mismanagement of the squad has derailed the season.

Spurs are set to be stronger under Conte next season as he has a summer to shape the squad even further in his image, while United look to have hired Erik ten Hag to steer their ship.

Arteta and Edu Gaspar are relatively new to their respective roles and will inevitably make mistakes, but how willing are Arsenal fans to tolerate these mistakes while rivals hire top, established managers who will take their clubs forward?