Three players Gunners boss Arsene Wenger should have bought during the transfer window.
It was a disappointing January for Arsenal, with veteran midfielder Kim Kallstrom the only addition to the Gunners squad.
Critics are already claiming boss Arsene Wenger bottled the club’s best chance in years to push for the Premier League title by failing to invest, but others argue there is no value in the January market.
We take a look at three players Arsenal could, and should, have signed this month:
Dimitar Berbatov
The sultry Bulgarian is not everyone’s cup of tea but he comes with bags of ability and, crucially, experience of winning the Premier League. The 32-year-old wanted out of Fulham, was keen to stay in London and was available for almost nothing. Doubtless Arsene Wenger had reservations over his temperament and commitment, but the former Spurs striker would have been a worthy deputy for Olivier Giroud in the matches against lesser sides and would have also provided a different option from the bench. As it is, Arsenal are now one injury to Giroud away from playing Nicklas Bendtner against the likes of Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Man City and Tottenham in the coming months. On deadline day, Berbatov signed for Monaco on loan until the end of the season.
Miroslav Klose
Signing a 35-year-old striker in January would normally be condemned as short-term and lacking ambition but when that 35-year-old is still a regular scorer for club and country, it’s a different matter. Klose is getting on a bit but is still banging in the goals for Lazio and is expected to be part of Joachim Loew’s World Cup squad next summer. The big forward knows Lukas Podolski, Mesut Ozil and Per Mertesacker as well as anybody and would provide Wenger with an alternative to Giroud, plus a very different option from the bench.
Julian Draxler
The Gunners were, of course, heavily linked with a move for the German wonderkid, who has done a terrible job of hiding his desire to move to the Emirates Stadium. Critics will argue that Draxler is not what Arsenal need, but the youngster’s arrival would have provided the club with the same kind of boost as the signing of Mesut Ozil. Arsenal clearly have the cash to meet Draxler’s release-clause but are now likely to face competition from super-clubs Manchester City, Chelsea and Bayern Munich next summer, and may struggle to get a deal done.