Where should Arsenal focus their attention in the January Transfer Window?

The next transfer season is just a month away from opening and it is time to turn some attention to that

The January transfer window always seems to sneak up on me.

I love transfers but it isn’t my favorite part of the sport (even it would probably be better for me traffic wise to really specialize in that) and with the season in full tilt I try to focus on the actual matches happening. This season I might be a bit more interested in the window than normal because I think it could be pivotal for Arsenal.

The January window comes at what might be the perfect spot for Arsenal and it could help give them the reinforcements needed to challenge for the goals this season. If Arsenal can put pressure on Liverpool over the next months’ worth of fixtures they will be in a clear, push the chips in, flags fly forever situation for the coming window.

Arsenal's squad is filled with very good players, and it lacks any clear weaknesses among the first-choice players following the club’s summer moves. Looking deeper, there are still concerns, and as recently observed, if the squad depth faces adversity, the team struggles to maintain the high standards we expect.

Where I want to spend the time here is thinking about the priority for the potential positions that the club could target in the January window.

Here is the current state of the squad and the minutes played:

Looking at the chart above there are a couple of clear spots that need to be strengthened especially for the long term.

Midfield

Right now in the defensive midfield spot Arsenal have played Thomas Partey 95% of minutes (with some right back thrown in) and have given 19% of minutes in the League to Jorginho.

Both of these guys are over 31 and past the prime years for a midfielder.

Arsenal also added Merino this summer and while he isn’t in the you are overly worried about decline stage he has moved into the end of the prime years that are typical for a midfielder where his move seems more short term than a long term fix.

Arsenal do have Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice in the heart of their prime and Ehan Nwaneri coming up to build around but there is no way that this position is not on the list for something the team is looking at in this window and especially next summer.

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Attackers

The attack is the other obvious pick here.

I remain in the numbers and talent are probably fine but it is risky category for this position and that makes it a prime candidate to be at the top of the shopping list next month.

Leandro Trossard is still a useful player to have in the team but it is probably getting to the point where even if he does get an extension that might still be good decision, thinking about replacing him in the first team pushing him further down the depth chart would be the smart and ruthless decision.

Trying to improve on Gabriel Martinelli, is another fan favorite choice but difficult task and I don’t doubt that the club are out there thinking about that but this is probably a harder move to make without some luck in the January window.

The last spot here is striker. Nominally Arsenal have Havertz and Jesus, with Trossard also able to fill in there as needed. Depth wise that is good on paper but the decline of Gabriel Jesus is a real depressing hard truth. He is a player that I long admired and even with his finishing problems I believed he was a player that did enough other stuff to justify putting up with the misses.

Now, he doesn’t just miss more often than we would like, he just is having trouble converting at all and his other work seems to have been effected where he went from elite teammate to just pretty good teammate.

Previously it would have been difficult to improve on Jesus in my mind, but that Jesus might not ever come back and looking for a new player in that role and a player that can potentially push Havertz is much higher on my list.

My Priority list

January is tougher than other windows to target long term options because it is more of a window where the type of player available has some sort of issue with them, either not playing enough, not doing well with the coach, is underperforming their previous expectations, is older, etc.

The other downside is that if they are not one of those, they are generally on the more expensive side because the selling team just doesn’t have the same ability to replace them and they make you pay for that.

Thankfully the depth chart for Arsenal is still pretty solid to where the team isn’t desperate and can be a bit more picky.

My first choice, ideal player here is creative/attacking midfielder that can play interior and exterior. This is probably harder to find in January and I want this player to be higher quality and something that fits into the long term plans vs being a short term band aid.

The most logical option is the team targeting a striker, there might be more options here that fit the type of player available in January where they are not the long term choice but given the stakes of what Arsenal are looking at that is okay.

Lastly it is looking at being opportunistic for a midfielder should something come available and fits the type of player that the team would want in the summer. This isn’t as pressing but the long term depth at central midfield are still something that will need to be addressed.