Will Arsenal target a fullback this month?

Here are 25 that numbers would suggest going after

Arsenal are reportedly looking for everyone’s pick for sexiest position this January: That’s right, a fullback.

With the club’s current Financial Fair Play (FFP) situation, a permanent signing may be tough to pull off. It may require a player to leave this month, or Arsenal may instead look for a loan to patch over the current cracks in their depth.

Of course, if Arsenal are constrained to the loan market, it’s really tough to know exactly who could be gotten mid-season. A hefty obligation to buy may be required, or they may end up shopping in the bin of unwanted and unused players. That would make a piece like this tough.

But as Arsenal look to the market this month, it’s at least worth looking around to see who’s having a good season. That’s exactly what I’ve done below, and I’m about to throw 35 names at you.

Before we get started:

• This list is created relying fully on statistics from this season. I always encourage a healthy dose of the eye test before forming a final opinion on any player, so consume responsibly.

• Speaking of which, we’re talking about defenders here! I’ve yet to see anyone really perfectly encapsulate defensive quality in a statistical format. So keep that in mind as we roll through.

• The minutes mark is still low for many players. I required 7.0 90s, or 630 minutes, of league play to qualify for this rank. My usual normal is 900.

• I generally aimed toward pre-prime or early prime, so again you’ll find no 28+ players here.

• It’s been more credibly reported that Arsenal may be looking specifically for a left-back, but just note I’ve included both sides here, for time reasons.

• These guys don’t all do exactly the same role. Some are pure attacking fullbacks/wingbacks, others are more like a wide centre-back. I’ll try to detail their roles below.

• There is obviously a subjective element to any man-made formulaic ranking. But for the record, these rankings are based on performance across 20 statistics, each with different weight toward the final score.

• All scores are subject to an adjustment according to league strength, so you shouldn’t have to mentally raise or lower rankings to make it more “fair.”

As always, let’s start off with a chat about Arsenal’s players in this position. This time around, we’ve got three…plus one guest star.