It’s the 29th of January and the transfer window shuts down this Thursday and Arsenal have still not signed anyone. Unai Emery confirmed earlier this month we’re only allowed to loan players in and we’ve been linked with multiple players so far but none have fallen through. I’m going to give my opinion on each player that we’ve been heavily linked to so far.
Denis Suarez
At first it seemed it was going to go through as the player is keen to the transfer but the rumors have died out in the past couple of days. Barcelona want a 2 million Euro loan deal with a obligation to buy at 14 million Euros, meanwhile Arsenal want to loan him with the option to buy in case it don’t work out. For me I’d loan the player with the obligation to buy as we’re losing Aaron Ramsey in the end of the season to Juventus and Ozil isn’t playing much under Emery. Suarez is rarely playing for Barcelona so it would be a good move for him, Emery had managed him when he was at Sevilla and knows of his ability as well. He’s known for taking players on and would add with to our squad, something were lacking with injuries to Welbeck and Mkhitaryan. With Barcelona announcing the signing of Frankie De Jong from Ajax, Suarez falls down more in the pecking order and should leave. Being underappreciated at Barcelona, he could do what Alexis Sanchez did and move to Arsenal and possibly become a star just like the Chilean.
Ivan Perisic
Apparently Arsenal offered 4 million Euros with an option to buy at 40 million Euros in the summer. Inter have turned it down as they would rather have the player sold or loaned with an obligation to buy. I would be very disappointed with this transfer as he is going to be turning 30 in February and it might be too late to bring him into the Premier League. With Stephan Lichtsteiner failing to adapt, who is also aging and came from Serie A, it worries me getting another player in their 30’s from Italy. I’ll be optimistic with this if it does go through, as he’s better than all our current wingers and had a great World Cup with Croatia. I think he’s a great player but feel it is too late to bring him in due to his age and our self-sustaining model.
Christopher Nkunku
Arsenal have been linked to Nkunku from PSG for a loan with an option to buy. To be honest I don’t know much of the player but I’ve heard he’s great defensive talent. Unai Emery promoted him to the first team during his time at PSG so he must know the player well. He’s played with Matteo Guenzdozi in the French U20 team and if he’s plays similarly than Guenzodzi, I would take the player in to add more defensive cover in our midfield.
Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco
Arsenal have been linked to the winger and he is keen for a move back to Europe after playing a season in China. Still only 25, he’s a very talented winger and a Belgium international that featured in the World Cup. I remember him scoring against Arsenal in the Emirates when he was at Monaco in the Champions League, he’s a quality winger who can fall in the same caliber in wingers such as Sane and Mane if it weren’t for his move to China. I think this would be an excellent signing but his club Dalian Yifang also want him to be sold permanently rather than loaned, as he is a key member of their squad and only signed him last January. He’d be a star in Arsenal getting instantly into the line up, a front three of Aubameyang, Lacazette, and Carrasco would terrorize any team in the world.
Gary Cahill
At first I was against this move as he isn’t even starting for Chelsea, but due to our number of injuries I’d honestly welcome any center back with open arms. Also when I look at who we have, I honestly only see Sokratis and Holding as the only center backs better than him and now they’re injured. Getting him for loan until the end of the season would be a great move as he would just play with us through this crisis and then in the summer we sign an actual starting defender. He’s an experienced player as well and won’t have to adapt to the league.
Mehdi Benatia
Reports from Italy are saying Benatia is heading out the Qatar to join Al-Duhail, but I think Arsenal should hijack the move for the Morrocon defender. He used to be a class defender back at Bayern Munich but has failed to receive any game time this season with the return of Leonardo Bonucci to Juventus. We’ve been linked with him ever since his days in Munich and he’d be a great partner for Sokratis when he returns from injury. Arsenal should loan him with an obligation to buy in the summer as he’s an improvement compared to every other center back except Sokratis. The only thing I worry about is that he’s aging and from Juventus like Lichtsteiner, but his position won’t rely on pace such as Lichsteiner does in right back.
Looking into the youth academy
If Arsenal fail to loan any players in the upcoming days then they should be looking into the youth academy for some gems. For the wingers we have Bukayo Saka, who has been doing excellent in the under 23’s and has had some minutes already this season. He’s a player who isn’t afraid to take players on and will add width to the sqaud. We can also call back Reiss Nelson back early from his loan at Hoffenheim as he was doing excellent in the beginning of his loan . At center back Julio Pleguezuelo impressed me when he started in the Europa League earlier this season, and Zach Medly is also performing well in the under 23’s. These players will know what the badge means and will perform their best in order to impress Emery. Having homegrown players will also be great for our self-sustaining model, as we can save money to buy players we need desperately with the transfer market inflating like crazy. We just lost Wilshire and are about to lose Ramsey who came from our academy, it’s time to replace them with other homegrown Arsenal players.
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