Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s departure on a free transfer rounded off a disappointing January window for Arsenal, whose fans must be wondering whether the club has enough quality remaining to fight for a top four spot.
Clearly wanting to avoid a repeat of the Mesut Ozil saga, Arsenal cut ties with their star striker after his falling out with Mikel Arteta, allowing him to join Barcelona and save close to £25m on wages in the process.
Following other outgoings of players such as Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Sead Kolasinac and Folarin Balogun, manager Mikel Arteta is now left with only 20 senior players to choose from.
Colorado Rapids defender Auston Trusty was the north London club’s only signing but the 23-year-old will remain on loan for the next season and a half.
Arsenal’s January deals
In: Auston Trusty (undisclosed from Colorado Rapids)
Out: Ainsley Maitland-Niles (loan to Roma), Folarin Balogun (loan to Middlesbrough), Pablo Mari (loan to Udinese), Sead Kolasinac (free to Marseille), Calum Chambers (free to Aston Villa), Auston Trusty (loan to Colorado Rapids), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (free to Barcelona)
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With a long five months until the transfer window opens again, Arsenal’s recruitment department need to get busy as they look to build up their squad depth.
Below we take a look at the Arsenal’s current squad and assess the areas they most need to strengthen.
Goalkeeper
- Players available: Aaron Ramsdale, Bernd Leno
- Players needed: A new reserve goalkeeper to support Ramsdale
The arrival of Aaron Ramsdale last summer has pushed Bernd Leno closer to the exit door, which could explain the reported deal in principle for Matt Turner, 27, from the New England Revolution.
Leno almost immediately fell behind Ramsdale in the Arsenal pecking order, which came as a surprise to most observers who expected the twice relegated goalkeeper to only become a starter when the German left.
The 29-year-old fought hard to establish himself as No 1 ahead of Emiliano Martinez but now looks likely to leave this summer in search of regular first-team minutes.
Defence
- Players available: Kieran Tierney, Rob Holding, Gabriel Magalhaes, Ben White, Cedric Soares, Nuno Tavares, Takehiro Tomiyasu
- Players needed: Return of Saliba should be enough for a position of relative strength
Pablo Mari was sent on loan to Italian club Udinese and Calum Chambers has joined Aston Villa on a permanent deal, which leaves Arteta with three centre-backs.
Mari is not the only central defender out on loan, as William Saliba is with fellow Arsenal player Matteo Guendouzi at Marseille.
The French defender has impressed on loan, with a notable performance against PSG in October, when he shut down Kylian Mbappe’s attempts on goal.
Saliba has voiced his disappointment at not having more of a chance at Arsenal but the exit of others may give him the opportunity to be reintroduced and challenge for a starting position next term.
The 20-year-old is a talent that Arsenal should utilise, and his integration into the first-team would allow for funds to be focused on other problem positions such as midfield and up front.
Midfield
- Players available: Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey, Emile Smith Rowe, Martin Odegaard, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Mohamed Elneny
- Players needed: A new central midfielder if Xhaka leaves. Guendouzi’s return not a guaranteed success
Granit Xhaka was on the brink of leaving Arsenal for Roma in the summer but talks fell through after a fee could not be agreed. But Jose Mourinho has not given up on the Swiss international, meaning Arsenal are likely to need a replacement.
If Arteta’s relationship with Guendouzi is on the mend then the 22-year-old could serve as Thomas Partey’s midfield partner.
Similarly to Aubameyang, Guendouzi was dropped and later shipped out on loan because of disciplinary issues. But Marseille boss Jorge Sampaoli has praised the midfielder for his “natural” leadership qualities so perhaps he has matured since his last appearance in June 2020, when he had to be restrained by teammates following Brighton’s late winner.
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Former target Bruno Guimaraes was snatched by Newcastle but Lille midfielder Renato Sanches could be available. The 24-year-old struggled to live up to the hype following his breakthrough success at Euro 2016 but has rebuilt his career in France and will only have one year left on his contract this summer. AC Milan are also known to be suitors.
Attack
- Players available: Alexandre Lacazette, Eddie Nketiah, Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka, Nicolas Pepe
- Players needed: A new centre-forward to replace Aubameyang
Aubameyang’s deadline day move to Barcelona has left Arsenal with only Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah, who are both out of contract later this year.
Alexander Isak was linked to Arsenal in January but a rumoured release clause of around €90m (£75m) is on the 22-year-old’s contract which ends in 2024, which could prove a big stumbling block.
The Swedish forward was spotted in London during the international break to the excitement of Arsenal fans, but it turned out to be only a shopping spree rather than the finalising of a deal.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has also been linked to Arsenal but Frank Lampard’s appointment at Everton could persuade the England striker to stay. The Merseyside club may not be willing to sell whilst attempting their restructure.
Analysis: Arsenal have taken a huge gamble
By Daniel Storey, i chief football writer
Well you can’t say that Arsenal haven’t trimmed the fat from their squad. Five vaguely first-team players left the Emirates before deadline day with no replacements, leaving supporters worried about a squad light on numbers. And then they allowed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to join Barcelona without signing anyone to fill that void.
In isolation, there were clear arguments for every exit and Mikel Arteta would reason that long-termism must win out. Arteta clearly decided that those who have left, even on loan, are not up to standard. The only mistake was not being ruthless on them earlier and thus managing to sell them on permanent deals for significant transfer fees.
The Aubameyang farce – on, off and on again on deadline day – resolved itself in the best possible way. Again failing to get a fee for their former captain and top goalscorer should be considered to be a backwards step, but that damage was done in awarding him such an overinflated salary. Saving £25m in wages and ridding the squad of a senior player in whom Arteta had clearly lost all faith is a satisfactory conclusion of a deeply unsatisfactory decline.
But with only 20 players in the first-team squad and Arsenal just two points off the top four with a game in hand, this January will be perceived as a missed opportunity to kick on. The mood will depend upon three things: 1) the ability of Saka, Smith-Rowe and Odegaard to provide a goalscoring threat as well as their creative one; 2) Arsenal’s immediate results after the close of the window given that they are low on strikers and haven’t scored in four matches; 3) the avoidance of injuries in positions where they are now lighter on numbers than they were a month ago.
This is an extract of The Score, Daniel Storey’s weekly verdict on all 20 Premier League teams’ performances. This week he takes a look at their dealings in the January transfer window. Sign up here to receive the newsletter every Monday morning
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