Mikel Arteta has dropped a major hint about the January transfer window, and it goes against Arsenal's long-term strategy.
Obviously the transfer plans of the Gunners and the club are largely aligned, but it is fair to say that Arsenal did not expect him to end up in this position. They have an injury list that has had a huge impact on their title challenge, while at the same time fans of rival clubs are clearly bored of hearing about it.
Arsenal's plan was to be 'reactive rather than proactive' in the January window as they will try to solve immediate problems but would be reluctant to do big business next month.
They definitely want a striker and possibly a left winger, but they are more likely to be targeted in the summer as well-organised clubs will always pride themselves on not being tempted into panic buying. However, they can look to strengthen their defense because even though it looks like defenders are coming out of their ears, that is the department that has been the problem and they may need to respond.
Arteta said tellingly on the eve of the match against Monaco: “The window gives us the opportunity to strengthen the team if we feel it is necessary and we believe we have the capacity to do so. We are working on it and just have to assess the situation as it changes every week. Not for the better right now, but I am confident that in a few weeks we will be in a better place.”
This season they lost Ben White for an extended period of time. Jurrien Timber has missed games, Gabriel was the same. Riccardo Calafiori was a big signing in the summer, but has been injury-prone so far. Oleksandr Zinchenko has missed large parts of the season.
You almost forget that Takehiro Tomiyasu is still there and, most frustratingly for him, he always seems to be injured when Arsenal need him. He can fulfill both roles as a full-back.
It's the full-backs that have killed Arsenal. They are such an important part of Arteta's tactics. But they all missed big chunks. The jury must be out on Calafiori because he is a brilliant player but suffered injuries before his summer move in Italy and the player who signed to strengthen Arsenal's defensive options has indeed failed to string together a series of games .
That's the question for Arsenal: what will the treatment table look like in January? You certainly can never tell that from Arteta's press conferences as he has become the boy who cried wolf over his injuries.
Obviously Arteta is asked about injuries and he just gives answers, but it gets repetitive and boring. His enjoyment of playing mind games about who is fit only makes things worse and brings more attention. Arsenal made some good deals last January and got good value for them.
Jorginho and Leandro Trossard were good signings in 2023, coming for a total fee of just under £40 million. But it's hard to see them even spending that much in January.
The danger of making deals in the winter market is that you compromise on the primary goals and sign players who are then tied to long contracts. That's why I think they might look for a loan in January to strengthen the defense, but the striker and more attackers will come next summer, even if the fans want goals now.
Last summer they wanted Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig and the interest is there. Newcastle appear intent on selling Alexander Isak given the amount of talk surrounding him, but there's no way they want to pay £120m. Arsenal looked at left winger last summer, with Nico Williams in high demand and Raphinha also available, but the latter decided to stay and fight for his place at Barcelona.
He must be happy he did that, even if the club wanted to do business with him. But it's always unusual to see star names moving in January. That's why if Arsenal do anything, it will probably be a defender and it will be a short-term rather than a spectacular one.
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