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Arsenal transfer news with the latest rumours from the January market, including a fresh football.london take on things
Arsenal have not managed to complete the transfers that many wanted them to this month, but it would be unwise to rule them out just yet. The final days of the window usually do strange things to clubs, and given the manor of victory over Nottingham Forest on Tuesday, it is far from a perfect squad that Mikel Arteta has at his disposal.
The manager claimed before the match that he had “one of the thinnest” groups of players in the league. That will not wash with those who have seen him sell Folarin Balogun and sign Jorginho, Jakub Kiwior, and Kai Havertz, though.
Now with the hours, let alone days, counting down before Arsenal and Arteta are wedded to the squad that is tasked with a title challenge and Champions League assault, football.London breaks down the latest rumours and talking points.
Humor us for one second. Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Newcastle striker Callum Wilson is a player who could yet be on the move. The veteran Premier League forward missed the 3-1 win for the Toon on Tuesday night away at Aston Villa—a result that boosts Arsenal’s top four or five hopes—and may well not be hanging around for long, though he was injured.
He has been linked with a move away from St. James’ Park as Eddie Howe looks to offload some of his more sellable assets in order to free up funds for yet more lavish spending under the Saudi-backed ownership. The Magpies will reportedly demand around £18 million for their backup forward, something that won’t change even with Alexander Isak suffering what is now thought to be a minor injury.
Romano explained Newcastle’s position, saying, “It could be one to watch. Newcastle insist that the player is going nowhere, which is the same position they had on Kieran Trippier. So, it’s not easy, but if they receive an important proposal because of Financial Fair Play, that could be a different situation. Wilson could be open to the move.
We heard rumours about a transfer to Atletico Madrid, but from what I’m hearing, they will sign Moise Kean. So, he’s not going to Atletico. Premier League clubs could have an opportunity in the final hours, but it must be an important proposal, not a loan.”
For Arsenal, it has been a striker or nothing for most of this month, and celebrity fan—much-maligned celebrity fan, at that—Peters Morgan knows just where they need improving. “People say we haven’t got the money, Financial Fair Play and all that; I can sell you three or four players tomorrow and get a war chest to buy a striker,” he claimed. “It’s not difficult.
“Put Havertz on the transfer list for one; what would you get for him? £60 million for Havertz, right? People like [Emile] Smith Rowe and [Eddie] Nketiah—are they really, really going to be the players that win you the league?
“Nothing against them; they’re terrific players; they’ve come through our system; great. But if you want to win the league, you’ve got to be ruthless. And it worries me that Arteta almost seems to be trying to convince himself that he doesn’t need a top striker when everyone knows he does.”
football.london says: Well, there’s some things that come from Morgan that you may disagree with, but he does have the player trading thing down to a tee. The fact that he has also picked on two homegrown academy players is even more important and beneficial to the accounts.
As for Havertz, it would be hard to argue that Wilson himself wouldn’t be able to do a similar, if not better, job than him and for a much lower cost as well as wage demand. That Arsenal and Arteta sold Balogun to effectively replace him with the German is still baffling.
Wilson would be the type of player that doesn’t end the career of Nketiah due to his age but could be a perfect foil. He is perhaps an immediate upgrade in some senses and offers more experience than Arteta currently has. The thing is that doing this in January looks a bit desperate.
Arsenal made their mistakes in the summer and are being made to pay. Wilson cannot solve those problems now, and not even in a Morgan dream world are these things likely to change.
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