Transfer Time: 3 Players Arsenal Should Target In January

 As the old saying goes, there are only three certainties in life: death, taxes, and Arsenal injury problems.

At least, that’s what it must feel like for the club’s fans. Having struggled mightily in recent seasons to keep their stars fit, the Gunners have suffered yet another barrage of first-team injuries in the past few weeks. Winger Alexis Sánchez (hamstring, two to three weeks), holding midfielder Francis Coquelin (knee, three months), central midfielder Santi Cazorla (knee, four months), and holding midfielder Mikel Arteta (calf, two to three weeks) have all been sidelined over the course of the past three games.

With his squad significantly depleted and the Premier League title race looking surprisingly open (only nine points separate the top ten teams in the table), Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger has some big decisions to make. The professional soccer world’s month-long January transfer window will open in the new year, and Wenger will need to bring in multiple new faces to the Emirates Stadium if he wants his club to be contenders domestically and in Europe. 

Even though the Frenchman has a well-documented history of being reluctant to spend big, the unusual fragility of his current roster leaves him with no other choice. January has to be a productive month on the transfer market for Arsenal. Best case scenario, Arsenal picks up three quality players, preferably a central defender, a holding midfielder, and a forward.

Who should Arsenal attempt to acquire? Here are the three players Wenger ought to seriously consider making a move for:

John Stones, Center-back

fullmatchesandshows.com

The 21 year old is arguably the hottest defensive commodity on the market. This past summer, Chelsea tried to lure the him away from Goodison Park with a £38m offer, but Everton turned it down. However, it is unlikely that Stones will remain with the Toffees indefinitely, since he reportedly turned in a formal transfer request during the whole saga with Chelsea over the summer. With the center-back seemingly open to leaving Everton, Arsenal need to throw their hat into the ring for his transfer. 

At 6‘2, Stones is a young, physically imposing presence in the back line. Technique will improve with experience, but size cannot be taught. Arsenal’s current enforcer is their veteran center-back, Per Mertesacker, who has averaged 1.60 tackles, 5.60 clearances, and 1.5 interceptions per 90 minutes in Premier League play this season. But it must be noted that the German, for all he brings to the Arsenal defense, just turned 31 in September. He probably only has two or three years of top-level play left in him, and Arsenal need to be thinking about finding a replacement.

Thankfully, Wenger need look no further than Stones. The English defender has put up comparable Premier League numbers to those of Mertesacker this year (1.67 tackles, 4.17 clearances, and 2.08 interceptions per 90 minutes), and he’s 10 years younger. In Stones, the Gunners would be getting an established, talented center-back who has not even hit the prime of his career yet. Since Arsenal need youth and size in their backline, and Stones seems to want to move to a contender, it is hard to see any downside to this deal for either party.

Asier Illarramendi, Holding Midfielder

football-gossip.net

Of all Arsène Wenger’s worries, his defensive midfield situation is the most concerning. Arsenal’s first- and second-string holding midfielders, the aforementioned duo Francis Coquelin and Mikel Arteta, are both injured, leaving Wenger with only one healthy player in that position, Mathieu Flamini. While Flamini is serviceable in the short term, the club need to make a move for a long-term partner for Coquelin in that position. The juggling of domestic and European competitions that top clubs have to do requires talent and depth in all positions, and Arsenal are particularly weak in this area right now.

The acquisition of Asier Illarramendi could solve their problem. The Real Sociedad player recently left Real Madrid after a disappointingly mediocre couple of seasons with the Spanish giants. He was never the first choice during his time at the Bernabéu and subsequently did not get much opportunity to show his potential.

This potential is what should be intriguing to Wenger and Arsenal. The 25-year-old Illarramendi is a versatile holding midfielder who would fit well into Wenger’s tactical scheme. Defensively, he’s solid. Per 90 minutes in Spain’s La Liga this season, he’s averaging 2.46 tackles won and 3.21 interceptions. To put these in perspective, Arsenal’s Coquelin averaged a similar line of 3.14 tackles won and 3.24 interceptions prior to his injury.

While these defensive numbers are good, Illarramendi’s value to Arsenal specifically would come through his ability to be an offensive pivot in the defensive midfield. The Spaniard completes 84% of his passes and has created 1.04 offensive chances per 90 minutes for Real Sociedad this campaign. Wenger often likes to have his side build their creative offensive movements from the back, and Illarramendi has the necessary vision and passing ability to thrive in that type of playing style.

Another added benefit for Arsenal is that Illarramendi probably would not be too difficult a transfer to pull off. He went to Real Sociedad for only €17 million in August. Granted, his new club might not be eager to let him go so soon. However, if Arsenal were to come knocking with a fee in the range of €24m or €25m, it would be a profitable deal that Real Sociedad would definitely have to consider. Also, since they currently sit fourth from the bottom in La Liga and are in serious danger of being relegated at the end of the season, Arsenal should not have much trouble convincing Illaramendi to move to a club that regularly competes for trophies.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Forward

Not since Thierry Henry have Arsenal had a striker with world-class pace and finishing ability. As of now, they have a tall, slow Frenchman with aerial ability (Olivier Giroud), and a speedy winger who often seems to have trouble finding the back of the net (Theo Walcott). Borussia Dortmund’s Aubameyang is the best of both worlds.

The Gabon international currently leads the German Bundesliga with 17 goals in only 14 games. The only other players who are even close are Robert Lewandowski (14) and Thomas Müller (13). Clearly, finishing is not a problem for him. If Aubameyang  linked up with Arsenal’s assist-wizard Mesut Özil in the Gunners’ attack, the rest of Europe’s managers would start losing sleep.

On top of this clinical scoring touch, Aubameyang also brings rapid, defense-shredding pace to the pitch. Some say he is faster than Usain Bolt. Just like with size, you cannot teach speed, and this guy has a lot of it. A hypothetical three-pronged forward line of Alexis Sànchez, Aubameyang, and Walcott might be the fastest offensive trio in the world. There’s only one attacking piece missing for Arsenal, and that’s Aubameyang.

This would probably be the trickiest of all three transfers for Wenger to make happen. Given his dominant play this season and his youth (he’s only 26 years old), Aubameyang would most likely command a massive transfer fee. However, despite Wenger’s usual stinginess with the Arsenal treasure trove, a player of the Gabonian’s quality would be well worth the expense.

Wenger is going to have to buy big on occasion to successfully compete with the likes of Manchester City, FC Barcelona, and Bayern Munich. That is just the nature of today’s transfer economy. These three players would each be great additions to the Arsenal squad, so loosen up that check-writing wrist, Wenger. It’s almost time to sign.