Arteta’s All or Nothing: An Overview of Arsenal’s Winter Transfer Window

It is relatively unfamiliar for a side with top four ambitions this season to notably weaken their side during the January transfer window, but here we are. Five noteworthy outgoings, and zero credible incomings, Mikel Arteta is certainly playing with fire.

Albeit, it was not a month of reluctance to buy, but rather, reluctance to be the victim of overspending and panic buying, with the January market arguably the more volatile of the two. Dusan Vlahovic was clearly the primary target for Arsenal, dragging out almost the entirety of the window, only to snub the Gunners and opt for a fellow Serie A outlet in Juventus. Questions that could be made of the ambition of the player would be ill-judged, as both sides are in a relatively similar rebuilding state, however Juventus have seen far more success than Arsenal in recent times. You could perhaps argue that Arsenal had been relatively shortsighted with the efforts put into obtaining Vlahovic’s signature, ignoring several other pressing matters, such as the dire need for another centre midfielder and an upgrade on our back up right back, with Calum Chambers leaving the club on a free transfer. A striker is clearly the main target for Arteta’s side, one that not only can score goals but also fit our system with regards to our free flowing attack that has looked toothless in 2022, but I can’t help but get the feeling we out all our eggs in one basket; specifically a Serbian one. Aleksander Isak endured a late flurry of attention from North London, with the Swede even being spotted in London near the Emirates, but a deal could not be materialised. Leaving a significant transfer so late in January only begs to be financially exploited. 

With that being said, it is perhaps credit to Arteta for not giving in and preferring to wait until summer to recruit, rather than be reactive as we have done in the past. Choosing to hold off till summer, albeit risky, demonstrates sheer courage on the board’s behalf. However, the decision to offload Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a strange one with all things considered, especially on deadline day. Yes, he hasn’t been a part of Arteta’s plans since the disciplinary issues in December and we typically have not missed him, until recently, going through January scoring only once.

It is even more strange when you consider the fact that despite his difficulties this season, he has still outscored Lacazette by 7 to 5, who will really be required to step up now if a top 4 finish is going to have any real traction.

Back up to Lacazette we have Eddie Nketiah, who was also subject to a departure until Crystal Palace were declined. In an ideal world, attaining any fee for a striker open to leaving and with just 6 months left on their deal would be a sign of great business, but in our case, it would leave us severely under-staffed. Aubameyang’s departure may have freed up around £27million in wages however, which is probably another reason why he left as opposed to Nketiah, who will be on a significantly smaller wage, thus financially it was probably the correct decision. 

News has since broke revealing that Mauro Icardi was very nearly an Arsenal player last month. In an attempt to lure Aubameyang to Paris, PSG made Icardi available in a swap deal for Arsenal. Clearly, it was rejected, which further demonstrates Arteta’s inclination and adamance to get only the players he wants.

Elsewhere, we saw Maitland-Niles, Pablo Mari, Sead Kolasinac and Calum Chambers all depart the club, with the first two on loans. Somewhat sporadic players anyway, it shouldn’t affect Arsenal too much, unless we endure a serious pandemic of injuries to the side, as with Arsenal… is never too far away. The fact we have lost four players there with minimum recuperation of finances is however a problem. We may have a stricter and authoritative transfer policy when it comes to incomings, but we still struggle massively in the outgoings department of the market. 

An optimist would say that Gabriel Martinelli could also fill the void as the lone front man, with Nico Pepe’s reintegration to the squad after performing well for his country at AFCON gives the slight feeling of a new signing anyway. A pessimist would say Arsenal have had two months to recruit a new forward, seeing as the last time Aubameyang was seen on the pitch was December 6th, and yet failed, which places question marks over both Edu and Arteta’s future.  

That being said, these next few weeks are again pivotal in Arteta’s reign over Arsenal. He’s come through many storms relatively dry so far in his managerial tenure, but this storm certainly has the potential to leave some long-lasting damage. Can Arteta do it again?