Arsenal have had a nightmare period, with injuries and results conspiring against them to increase the importance of the January transfer window.
The Gunners have been dumped out of the FA Cup by 10-man Manchester United and face an uphill battle in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final after losing the home leg 2-0 to Newcastle. Those results came after a 1-1 draw at Brighton, which meant a very miserable start to 2025 for Mikel Arteta and his players.
To make matters worse, Arsenal have added a potentially serious knee injury for Gabriel Jesus to the mix that already included a hamstring injury for Bukayo Saka and a knee problem for Ben White. The good news is that Arsenal can use the mid-season transfer window to plug the gaps. The bad news is that this won't be easy.
Arsenal have wanted to sign a winger and a striker since the summer when they earned over £100m but failed to meet their needs, with Mikel Merino, David Raya and Riccardo Calafiori joining Raheem Sterling and Neto on loan permanently arrived.
Speaking on Tuesday, Arteta confirmed that Jesus will face a significant period on the sidelines with what appears to be an anterior cruciate ligament knee injury. And when asked what that meant for the transfer period, he replied: “My answer does not change, we are actively looking to improve the team. We have been doing that from day one. We would be naive if we didn't do that.”
But what options do they have? The answer is that they are limited. Firstly, they cannot look to a domestic loan to solve their problems with Bournemouth's Neto and Chelsea's Sterling taking their two places. That means players like Evan Ferguson and even Marcus Rashford are out of reach unless they commit to a permanent transfer.
Foreign loanees are another matter and that is probably the best opportunity for Arteta and Arsenal's recruitment team. Paris Saint-Germain have made it very clear that Randal Kolo Muani is available this month and has received interest from Tottenham and Manchester United. He is not wanted by Luis Enrique and it looks like he will leave. The problem is that PSG would like a direct sale, not an initial loan, and there is a lot of competition.
As reported by Mirror Football, Arsenal's No.1 target in an ideal world would be Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams, who has a £50m release clause. But his £300,000-a-week wage demands and Spanish tax law make that a very difficult deal in the age of profit and sustainability rules. It is also unlikely that his club will want to lose their star player midway through the campaign.
Arsenal have been admirers of Benjamin Sesko for years, who was a target last summer, but it will also be difficult to sign him permanently in January. The 21-year-old striker was interested in Arsenal this summer. It is unclear whether RB Leipzig will be tempted.
There are other options. Lille striker Jonathan David has been linked with a transfer this month as his contract expires at the end of June. The 24-year-old striker has scored goals for Lille and is expected to reject the offer of a new contract to leave as a free agent in the summer. Could Arsenal tempt him to move this month?
Reports in Italy suggest that Arsenal have scouted Atalanta striker Mateo Retegui this season. The Italy international only joined Atalanta from Genoa for €28 million, so the club may not be keen to sell him so quickly.
Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic was a target for Arsenal before landing in Turin and he reportedly remains on the radar. Vlahovic has scored twelve goals in 23 games for Juventus this season and it seems highly unlikely that the Old Lady will take home the win this month.
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