A look at five potential additions Arsenal should look at in January.
Adil Rami (Valencia)
One area Arsene Wenger will surely look to address is his defence, and the ideal candidate for a new centre-back for the Gunners could be readily available this January, with commanding French international defender Adil Rami looking likely to leave Valencia after a fall-out with the club’s manager.
With Thomas Vermaelen struggling for both fitness and form, Arsenal are certainly short of backup options to current first-choice pairing Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny, which could prove costly if injuries and suspensions eventually take their toll as the season goes on. Rami could definitely challenge for a starting place and provide Wenger with some much-needed quality and experience to give his squad more depth.
However, with Rami surely available on the cheap this January, a whole host of other clubs could also be ready to pounce for him. Manchester City and Manchester United could be Arsenal’s main Premier League rivals for the 27-year-old, while Italian pair AC Milan and Napoli have also been linked with a potential move this season.
Kurt Zouma (Saint-Etienne)
If Wenger is happy with his current options defensively, Arsenal could also opt to bring in a player who would be more one for the future, with highly talented 18-year-old Kurt Zouma possibly available this January. The Frenchman, currently of Saint-Etienne, looks like one of the best prospects in the game at the moment and is also being chased by the two Manchester clubs, who are clearly also on the market for new defenders this January.
Arsenal have a great record of providing opportunities to young players though, particularly from France with Wenger’s connections in his home country, and that could persuade Zouma to reject other teams’ advances for a move to the Emirates Stadium, which he might see as a better option for the next step in his development.
Some rumours suggest that Zouma would be available for just £8m, which would surely be a bargain for a player who would be a great long-term option for Arsenal at the back.
Lars Bender (Bayer Leverkusen)
Arsenal could also do with reinforcements in midfield, with free transfer Mathieu Flamini being the Gunners’ only move to bring someone in for that position this summer. Although Flamini has performed well since his return to the club from AC Milan, Arsenal could arguably do with a more long-term option in that position, who also has more of an ability to link the play like Alex Song did for Wenger’s side before he left for Barcelona last summer.
Lars Bender has been linked as one of Arsenal’s main targets this January as Wenger seems likely to continue to build on the strong German contingent growing at the club, and the Bayer Leverkusen man is a great all-round player who could give Arsenal something a little extra in the middle of the park. As with Arsenal’s other main targets, Manchester United are also said to be sniffing around for the 24-year-old Germany international, and could provide stern competition to the Gunners for one of their top targets.
Bender would likely cost around £20m, and Arsenal will have to pay up to prise him away from the Bundesliga, but he certainly looks like he’d be well worth the cost.
Demba Ba (Chelsea)
After missing out on Senegalese striker Demba Ba on summer transfer window deadline day, Arsenal are rumoured to be ready to go back in for the Chelsea misfit in January. The 28-year-old was close to sealing a loan move to Arsenal in the final hours of deadline day, before Jose Mourinho blocked a move upon finding out of the Gunners’ purchase of Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid, which he believed made them title contenders.
Still, with Ba struggling for regular playing time at Stamford Bridge this season, he could be keen to move on at the next opportunity, and Arsenal will be more ready to give him the first-team football he desires, as they desperately need backup to Olivier Giroud upfront, with the French striker the club’s only real option in that position at the moment.
Ba was one of many strikers linked with Arsenal this summer, including big names such as Gonzalo Higuain and Luis Suarez, but Wenger will be tempted by the former Newcastle man if he could be signed on loan or on the cheap. Although he has struggled since moving to Chelsea last January, Ba is a player more than capable of being one of the most prolific finishers in the Premier League, and could fit in perfectly at an attacking side like Arsenal, whose creative players will provide him with plenty of opportunities.
Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund)
One of the more adventurous moves Arsenal could make in the transfer market this January is for highly talented Borussia Dortmund forward Marco Reus. The German international has been in superb form for Jurgen Klopp’s side over the last year, and it is no surprise that the likes of Manchester City are also continuing to monitor his situation.
After signing Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid, Arsene Wenger is being tipped to spend big on a number of German players again this January, with Lars Bender as already mentioned, and the likes of Julian Draxler and Ilkay Gundogan being mentioned as targets as well, but Reus is a special talent and is perhaps more what Arsenal need at the moment.
A versatile attacker, the 24-year-old could certainly do a job upfront for the Gunners if needed, though he can also fill in behind the main striker or on either flank, using his creativity, intelligence and strong finishing to good effect from a variety of positions. There’s no doubt Reus would be expensive, but it would be another signal of intent from Arsenal in the transfer market, and another excellent addition to the club’s German contingent, with the Bundesliga producing so much of the world’s best attacking talent at the moment. Although not a natural out-and-out striker, Reus scored 19 goals last season and has 7 in 12 games this year, so he would certainly ensure Arsenal weren’t over-reliant on Giroud for goals.