John Davidson
Will the Gunners do what they normally do at this time of year and keep their powder dry or will Arsene Wenger decide to fire a shot across the bows of his critics and land a big-money signing this January?
The defensive problems of Manchester City and Liverpool have occupied most of the column inches on football tipster sites such as www.sbat.com, while down at the Emirates it’s been eerily quiet on the transfer rumour front.
Like north London rivals Spurs, much of Arsenal’s focus up until this point has been on re-signing existing players not buying in new ones. There are widespread reports that Olivier Giroud and Francis Coquelin have agreed to new contracts with the club, with Laurent Koscielny also close to an extension. Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, who both have 18 months left on their current deals, are also in talks with the club about committing their futures long-term.
Also, the need for Wenger to bring in fresh faces has lessened in the last few weeks as the team’s injury problems start to ease. After Hector Bellerin’s return last week, Arsene Wenger has welcomed back Per Mertesacker to training after a long-term knee injury. Mertesacker has missed the first four months of the campaign and once he makes it back, it will effectively feel like a new signing for the Arsenal boss.
After going unbeaten in 14 Premier League games, the loss at Everton means Arsenal are now six points behind leaders Chelsea in the race for the Premier League title. It means there is no chance of them resting on their laurels, even with players coming back to fitness. A couple of decent additions this January would strengthen their hand further and give them a better chance of closing the gap to the leaders.
Three of the greatest players to grace the Premier League with Arsenal were Dutchman, and the Gunners will be hoping that Ajax sensation Riechedly Bazoer proves to be every bit as good as Dennis Bergkamp, Robin van Persie and Marc Overmars if they can tie up a deal to bring the 20-year-old midfield to the English capital. Arsenal appear to face competition for the six-times capped international’s signature from Barcelona and Wolfsburg.
Arsene Wenger has long been linked with a move for Wolfsburg’s £30m-rated wide man Julian Draxler, although the story does not appear to have moved on from when it first surfaced at the start of December. Perhaps Arsenal have had a rethink given his poor form in front of goal this season. If Draxler did arrive, he’d swell Arsenal’s German ranks to four with Ozil, Mertesacker and Shkodran Mustafi already on board. Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard would appear to be another long shot.
Arsenal were linked Carlos Bacca back in the summer and could once again try to pry him away from AC Milan. There have been reports that AC Milan are willing to move the Colombian striker on and could well accept a bid of £21m for his services.
