We’re asking out Arsenal supporters in the Football Transfer Tavern to sum their current season up out of 10 at the moment and the reply we’re getting is around the 7.5 mark.
Having of course made a hash of their opening day fixture against West Ham United, not to mention their first two group games in the Champions League, these have represented the low points.,
However on the flip side, this has been the week in which the Gunners have beaten Bayern Munich on the back of two notable results away to Tottenham in the Capital One Cup and against Manchester United at home in the league.
So it’s fair to say that it’s been an emotional mixed bag for Gooners but right now, Arsenal sit second in the Premier League a nice distance away from Manchester City while their Champions League hopes were still kept alive three days ago so all in all, it could be a hell of a lot worse.
What many of our Arsenal fans in the tavern crave is a few more squad reinforcements in the January transfer window, particularly if the Gunners are in touching distance of first place in the Premier League in the New Year.
The Gunners are often described by pundits as a great team for seven months of the season with Wenger’s men going off the rails in the other three and we saw a few seasons back that Wenger priced himself out of a January move for Julian Draxler when Arsenal were sitting pretty heading into the final straight.
Arsenal fans will hope he’s learnt his lesson while swooping for some further depth in the form of Paris Saint-Germain’s Ezequiel Lavezzi who has been heavily linked with an Emirates Stadium switch today.
But who else may be joining the Argentine in North London. Here’s five men who might be!
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Click on the image below to reveal the five players who could follow Ezequiel Lavezzi to Arsenal in January.
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Andre Gomes
For the most part this season, Arsenal haven’t really suffered from not signing that top quality defensive midfielder in the summer due to the fact that Francis Coquelin has kept himself fit while continuing to put in those fantastic performances that he became known for in the second half of last season.
That said, we all know the Gunners have a weak underbelly if Coquelin gets injured while Wenger has to rely on Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini for any length of time so the Gunners’ reported interest in Valencia’s Andre Gomes is fairly exciting.
The Telegraph reported yesterday that that Gunners scouts were present at Los Che’s La Liga fixture against Malaga lately with the Portuguese international even scoring in a comfortable 3-0 victory.
If the Gunners are to make a formal bid for the former Benfica man, it’ll have to be substantial because he’s already signed a five-year contract at the Mestalla, not to mention counter interest from the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United.
Jonathan Calleri
As we saw in the summer transfer window, top quality striking reinforcements were a rare sought-after commodity with Manchester United infamously having to fork out £36 million on the relatively untried Anthony Martial who is turning out to be some player.
With this likely to be the case again in January where it is often even tougher to prise away the big names of European football, perhaps a left-field option might suit the Gunners.
Somebody in this category is Boca Juniors’ precocious young talent Jonathan Calleri who currently boasts a goalscoring record of 16 goals in 40 games in the Argentine top flight.
Back in September, Metro reported how Arsenal had joined the race for Calleri’s signature but if they are to sign the lesser-known talent, they’ll have to uncharacteristically move quick in the New Year due to even fresher reports claiming Chelsea are lining him up as a replacement for the below-par Radamel Falcao.
Ruben Neves
If there is one young player in Europe right now who is receiving more attention than anybody else, it surely has to be FC Porto’s Ruben Neves who became the Champions Leagues’ youngest ever captain in midweek when the 18-year-old led out the Portuguese giants against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the group stage.
Most heavily linked with Liverpool and Chelsea, Arsenal are now in on the act if you believe what you read in talkSPORT with the player having drawn comparisons to Barcelona’s anchorman Sergio Busquets.
Undoubtedly full of potential due to the fact he’s received captain’s duties at such a young age, Neves appears to be a player not only ready for the here and now at the highest level but also for years to come as a long-term player.
Daniele Rugani
So far this season, Arsenal’s injury problems haven’t really struck down their defence in the way it did so disastrously last season with Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker and Gabriel Paulista all fit right now.
As we know with the Gunners however, numerous injuries at one time seem to follow them around like a bad smell compared to most other clubs and if any of the aforementioned trio get injured in and around the New Year, perhaps Arsene Wenger may rekindle a swoop for Juventus’ Daniele Rugani.
Most top clubs have four established options at centre back and with the Italian Under-21 international having only notched TWO minutes of first team football at Juventus so far this season, perhaps he’s reconsidering his immediate future.
Back at the end of September, it was reported that Rugani was open to an Arsenal switch yet the Bianconeri kept him at Juventus Stadium and with the Gunners having previously been described as mulling over a £13 million bid, this seems decent value for an up-and-coming prospect.
Nolito
Perhaps we’re going back on ourselves due to the fact that it’d be unlikely that Arsene Wenger moved for both Ezequiel Lavezzi and this man Nolito in the winter due to the fact they’re both winger-cum-forwards but you never know.
The Gunners love their attacking players and despite boasting an embarrassment of riches on the flanks, Celta Vigo man Nolito is still being persistently linked with an Arsenal switch by the likes of the International Business Times.
These fresh reports have been stimulated from the fact that rival suitors for Nolito’s signature Barcelona seem to have distanced themselves from a January transfer.
Barca’s vice president for the club’s economic area, Susana Monje reiterated the issue of club debt at the Camp Nou in these recent reports and with Spanish football expert Guillem Balague having also referred to this situation of late, perhaps this puts Arsenal at an advantage but only time will tell.
