The year of 2022 is set to be big one for Arsenal, as Mikel Arteta and Edu continue their development of the squad.
Significant business was done in the summer transfer, with a wealth of outgoing deals and plenty of new faces, but further work is required.
Midfield issues have presented themselves with Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny heading off to the Africa Cup of Nations, while a new striker is also on the cards with the future of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah all facing an exit.
We've dived into the latest rumours and offered our rating for whether there's legs in seeing a move materialise.
Dusan Vlahovic 'offer made'
Arsenal are going for broke in their hunt for a new striker as Gazzetta dello Sport states the Gunners have made their move for Fiorentina sensation Dusan Vlahovic.
It's stated Arsenal have presented an offer of £46m for the Serbia striker along with the services of Lucas Torreira, which raises the financial worth of the deal to around £58.5m.
However, the kicker is that Vlahovic is keen to end the current season in Florence and that could mean Arsenal may have to wait - which could also lead to further competition in the market.
Our verdict
Signing Vlahovic would be a real statement of intent from Arsenal, as the striker is widely regarded to be one of the most exciting up-and-coming forwards in world football.
The issue in the hunt for the 21-year-old is the fact that competition in the market is fierce, while there's also a shortage of ready-made top-class forwards in a market where a wealth of top clubs are in the running - with Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City and Manchester United all eyeing recruits in this area.
Securing a deal in January, even if it means seeing Vlahovic remain in Italy until the end of the season, would be a masterstroke from Arsenal and adding Torreira, who is currently on loan in Florence, may sweeten a deal.
Roma close-in on Maitland-Niles
Roma are doubling-down in their quest to land Ainsley Maitland-Niles and are closing in on a deal to land the England ace, ESPN states.
Frustrated by seeing a late approach in the summer from Everton turned down, Maitland-Niles' opportunities since have been lacklustre and an exit this month seems likely.
Crucially though, the deal is said not to include either a mandatory or optional fee for the move to be made permanent at the end of the season.
Our verdict
Questions will certainly be asked about the decision to allow Ainsley Maitland-Niles to leave in this sort of deal, considering Arsenal's squad lacks significant depth in midfield following Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny's departure for the African Cup of Nations.
So, allowing Maitland-Niles to leave would further reduce the depth and must surely mean there is incoming business in this area - although the fact a deal is merely temporary will raise eyebrows even further.
Let's not forget that, come the summer, there's just a year remaining on Maitland-Niles' contract at the club, so it's already difficult to preserve his value and may end up being another negotiating failure on Arsenal's part.
