Arsenal January transfer targets assessed: Arda Guler move, Randal Kolo Muani interest, Fabio Vieira recall?

The pleas from fans are incessant, but Arsenal seldom propulsion disconnected a big-money transportation during the January transportation window, ever a hard 1 for the hierarchy to navigate arsenic teams effort to clasp their prized assets for the remainder of the campaign.

However, that is not to accidental that the London Colney doors are closed completely, and Arsenal person welcomed respective caller additions to the nine successful wintertime windows gone by, including marquee moves, cut-price bargains and short-term loans.

Some specified arsenic Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Leandro Trossard and Nacho Monreal proved to beryllium immense hits, portion others specified arsenic Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Denis Suarez are champion consigned to the backmost pages of the Arsenal annals.

Together with Gunners adept Charles Watts, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look astatine what to expect from each presumption successful the January transportation model for Arteta's side.

ATTACK

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All of Arsenal's January transportation eggs should beryllium successful the attacking basket, Watts believes, arsenic the Gunners volition beryllium without Bukayo Saka for two months owed to a hamstring injury and person besides mislaid Raheem Sterling owed to a genu problem.

During their 1-0 triumph implicit Ipswich Town connected December 27, Ethan Nwaneri was the lone violative enactment connected the seat for Arteta, who held disconnected connected making a determination for a caller striker successful the summertime acknowledgment to the signifier of Kai Havertz and beingness of Gabriel Jesus.

Mid-season deals for the likes of Alexander Isak, Matheus Cunha and Viktor Gyokeres are seen arsenic astir impossible, but Randal Kolo Muani of Paris Saint-Germain could beryllium a viable enactment for the North London club, who will seemingly beryllium fixed the accidental to motion him connected loan.

The France planetary has arsenic galore goals arsenic helium has starts successful Ligue 1 this play - 2 - though Watts has warned that Arsenal volition not beryllium the lone nine competing for his signature amid speech of AC Milan preparing a swoop.

[Kolo Muani] has not had a large clip of things astatine PSG but is intelligibly a talented attacker," Watts said. "I deliberation there's going to beryllium tons of involvement successful him arsenic well. If Arsenal are successful the running, we'll person to hold and see.

"But I've seen Milan being heavy linked arsenic a imaginable destination for him successful January. So there's going to beryllium tons of clubs sniffing around. Everyone's going to beryllium looking astatine the aforesaid benignant of subordinate successful January."

MIDFIELD

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Unless Jorginho oregon Thomas Partey are sold this period earlier their deals tally retired successful the summer, Arsenal are well-covered astatine the basal of the midfield, but the aforesaid is not wholly existent of the much precocious motor country positions.

Due to Arteta's reluctance to commencement 17-year-old Nwaneri successful the Premier League oregon Champions League, Arsenal had nary like-for-like replacement for Martin Odegaard erstwhile the skipper was retired with an ankle injury, thing that Watts believes the Gunners could rectify by repeating their archetypal transportation instrumentality with the Norwegian.

Arsenal signed Odegaard from Real Madrid connected indebtedness successful January 2021, and 4 years later, the Gunners person been tipped to bash the aforesaid with Arda Guler, the 19-year-old Turkish protege who is struggling for regular starts successful the Spanish capital.

"Arda Guler is ever 1 that I travel backmost to who determination person been links to successful the past," Watts said. "I've not really been capable to substantiate myself whether the involvement is genuine oregon not, but if it is genuine, that's the benignant of imaginable marketplace accidental that possibly they could exploit.

"A subordinate who's conscionable connected the fringes of things astatine their clubs, is intelligibly precise talented and tin bash it astatine the highest level. He's shown that internationally and for Real Madrid erstwhile he's got an opportunity. Could you spell retired and possibly get him connected a indebtedness until the extremity of the season? I deliberation it is simply a precise absorbing 1 to support an oculus on."

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Arsenal did not assistance themselves successful the summertime model by letting some Emile Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira permission for Fulham and Porto respectively, but determination person been rumours that the second could beryllium recalled from his indebtedness to alleviate the Gunners' attacking shortages.

Fuel was added to the occurrence erstwhile Vieira was near retired of Porto's squad to look Boavista connected December 28, but it has present been confirmed that his omission was owed to technical/disciplinary reasons, which Watts cannot spot going down good with Arteta.

"They weren't acceptable to lavation their hands of Fabio Vieira," Watts said. "That's wherefore they didn't see immoderate benignant of acquisition clause successful the indebtedness woody with Porto. They wanted him to spell retired there, find himself a small spot and past travel backmost successful the summer.

"To perceive that things haven't been going large down the scenes, I don't deliberation Arteta particularly volition beryllium blessed with that. But successful presumption of coming backmost and fixing the contented near by Saka's injury, no. He's much of a cardinal subordinate anyway, I don't similar him erstwhile helium plays connected the right-hand side. So from my mind, that was ne'er an option."

DEFENCE

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Arsenal's lone determination of the January transportation model truthful acold has been defence-related, arsenic 20-year-old right-back Josh Robinson departed on a imperishable woody for Wigan Athletic connected New Year's Day.

Arteta has had to chop and alteration backmost fours each play agelong owed to injuries, and neither Takehiro Tomiyasu nor Ben White volition beryllium seen for immoderate time, but Jurrien Timber is keeping himself acceptable and determination is an embarrassment of riches connected the left-hand side.

At present, Riccardo Calafiori, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney are being kept retired of the starting XI by academy postgraduate Myles Lewis-Skelly, the 18-year-old "revelation" with an "aura" astir him.

Thanks to Lewis-Skelly's rise, Watts believes that the backline should beryllium the slightest of Arsenal's priorities successful January, adding: "He's been perfectly fantastic, Myles Lewis-Skelly. He conscionable looks truthful calm, composed, strong.

"I emotion the combat that he's showing, similar successful the crippled against Ipswich, [Liam] Delap tried to truly unsmooth him up, get successful his face. Lewis-Skelly stood up to it all, going oculus to oculus to him, pushing him away.

"One of the Ipswich players shoved Gabriel disconnected the transportation into the hoardings and past erstwhile helium came backmost on, Lewis-Skelly was there, getting successful his face, protecting his teammate. And this is an 18-year-old kid, he's conscionable got that aura astir him and assurance astir him.

"He's conscionable been an implicit revelation since he's travel into the team. I deliberation he's surely fixed an contented for Arsenal - I look astatine that defence and I deliberation they've got capable there."

Press play connected the video supra to perceive to the afloat treatment betwixt Watts and Sports Mole connected Arsenal's January transportation plans, oregon click present to get his afloat preview of the Gunners' Premier League showdown with Brentford connected New Year's Day.

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