Mikel Arteta has admitted that Arsenal are expecting activity in the January transfer window amid rumours that the club are looking at replacements for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The Gunners are sitting pretty going into the mid-season transfer window following five successive wins in all competitions ahead of Saturday’s game against Manchester City.
Arsenal recruited heavily in the summer, shelling out over £150million to bring in Takehiro Tomiyasu, Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White, Nuno Tavares, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Martin Odegaard.
Having got lots of business done before the 2021/22 season, Arsenal are not likely to be bringing in multiple players in January.
However, a striker could be on the cards, with Aubameyang currently frozen out of the squad after being stripped of the captaincy.
Arteta was asked about the club’s plans for the January transfer window in Friday’s pre-match press conference ahead of the Man City match.
“We are expecting some activity because there are some players and a few loans that hopefully we have to complete,” he said.
“But it depends. It’s – as we all know – a very complicated market, and it’s a short window, so we will see what happens.”
Arteta appears to be talking about potential departures from Arsenal, with Folarin Balogun, Mohamed Elneny, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sead Kolasinac all linked with exits.
Balogun is expected to depart on loan to get some game time, with Middlesbrough, Millwall, Swansea and Saint-Etienne all reportedly interested.
Meanwhile, Maitland-Niles is on the radar of Jose Mourinho’s Roma and Everton after struggling for game time this season.
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Yet while departures are the most likely at Arsenal, the club are also considering their options in attack.
With Aubameyang’s future at the club in doubt and Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah out of contract in the summer, the Gunners are in need of a new forward.
According to ESPN , they have drawn up a four-man shortlist for the position, with Ollie Watkins, Alexander Isak, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Dusan Vlahovic all of interest.
Watkins has impressed since joining Aston Villa from Brentford last summer for around £27m.
The 26-year-old scored 14 Premier League goals last season and has netted five for Villa in 16 appearances so far this campaign.
Isak has caught the eye for Real Sociedad over the last year, while Everton ’s Calvert-Lewin (21 goals last season) and Fiorentina’s Dusan Vlahovic (21 goals in Serie A last season) are among the most in-demand strikers in Europe.
According to ESPN, strikers are not the only consideration for Arteta, who is also keen to add another holding midfielder to the squad.
The report states that Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz is of interest to the Gunners boss, although having signed Albert Sambi Lokonga and Thomas Partey in the last 18 months, the position is not a priority.
