Granit Xhaka's future at Arsenal has been up in the air for weeks.
Not only has the midfielder come to be a divisive player among a fan base split over whether he offers more than meets the eye, he was also stripped of the captaincy earlier in the season after confronting supporters at the Emirates Stadium.
After months of abuse on social media the Swiss international snapped as he was booed off the pitch in a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.
The club's new head coach has extended an olive branch to the former Bundesliga midfielder only for talk of a return to Germany to grow ahead of the January window.
Hertha Berlin are understood the club in line to sign Xhaka after rumours of a Premier League switch to Newcastle United.
If he were to leave Arsenal then the Gunners would need to find a replacement.
Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi may already be available for selection by Arteta but losing Xhaka without signing another midfielder would leave the squad light when it comes to the holding role.
Fortunately, help is at hand for Edu Gaspar, Raul Sanllehi and the recruitment team at the Emirates.
football.london asked Arsenal fans who they wanted to see their team sign in 2020.
In response came a flood of suggestions for defensive midfielders supporters would like to see arrive at London Colney in the near future.
Here are the Granit Xhaka replacements the Gunners need to sign according to their own fans.
12. Axel Witsel
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Age: 30
11. Ruben Neves
Club: Wolverhampton Wanderers
Age: 22
10. Fabian Lustenberger
Club: BSC Young Boys
Age: 31
9. Julian Weigl
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Age: 24
8. Geoffrey Kondogbia
Club: Valencia
Age: 26
7. Denis Zakaria
Club: Borussia Monchengladbach
Age: 23
6. Eduardo Camavinga
Club: Rennes
Age: 17
5. Allan Marques Loureiro
Club: Napoli
Age: 28
4. Ibrahim Sangare
Club: Toulouse
Age: 22
3. Abdoulaye Doucoure
Club: Watford
Age: 26
2. Thomas Partey
Club: Atletico Madrid
Age: 26
1. Wilfred Ndidi
Club: Leicester City
Age: 23
Which defensive midfielder should be Arsenal's priority signing in January?
Have your say using the ranked list below.
Vote up the players you want to see signed and vote down the ones you don't.
If Arsenal were to sell Xhaka in January to Hertha Berlin or one of his other suitors then the question would be which kind of midfielder should replace him?
The list above not only includes a wide variety of names from different leagues and clubs but also represents a range of views over the kind of player needed to take on the holding role.
Julian Weigl, Ruben Neves and Thomas Partey represent the passers who do seek to recycle position, start and build moves and drift without the ball to use their positional awareness to guard space rather than get stuck into a flurry of tackles.
Meanwhile, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Geoffrey Kondogbia would be better suited to a box-to-box role to bring the ball forward from deep under their own steam to link up play and get the better of opponents who dare to try and challenge them.
Then there are those who excel as destroyers such as Eduardo Camavinga and Wilfred Ndidi. It would be wrong to assume that these players are not talented footballers in their own right but they tend to do their best work when tasked with stopping opponents and snatching back possession in front of their own back four.
Arteta's choice, and the decisions made by those above him, could have a major say over how he defines the start of his reign as head coach in his first transfer window in charge of the Gunners.
