5 Players Arsenal should look at this January window
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Introduction
Arsenal are top of the table going into the Winter break and they will be looking to extend their run into the January transfer window. They have been playing fantastic football but in order to extend this run they must bring in reinforcements to bolster the squad.
They are desperately light at the base of midfield and with Partey being so injury prone, it could be the event that unravels their season. At RW Saka is the only real quality player with Nelson looking decent in his last 2 appearances but can they really trust him to be a solid backup to Saka?
They lack serious quality to back up Jesus with a lacklustre and inconsistent Eddie Nketiah as his only cover. At left centre back they do not have any natural competition for Gabriel and an injury or suspension to him could cost the Gunners. So without further ado, let's list the 5 players Arsenal should look to sign this transfer window.
Ibrahim Sangare
Ibrahim Sangare has been a sight to behold at a title-challenging PSV side this season and has been rock solid at the base of their midfield. His play is quite similar to Partey with both of them excellent passers of the ball and quite progressive players.
Sanagare has been an excellent winner of the ball this season with 3 tackles and 1.2 interceptions per 90 which trumps Partey’s 2.2 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per 90. It shows that although Sanagare does play in an easier league he is a better tackler of the ball and regains possession more often than Partey does for Arsenal.
However, Partey does have a better pass accuracy with 87.54% vs Sanagre's 85.94 and he has a much more successful long range passes per 90 than Sangare does showing his impressive repertoire of passes. Sanagre is 24 and is only worth £35 to £40 million, he would be an incredible signing for Arsenal and fits the profile for Arteta as a young midfielder with an abundance of talent.


Marcus Edwards
Bukayo Saka has been amazing this season with 5 goals and 6 assists in 15 games but like last year there must be the fear of him suffering a potential burnout towards the end of the season. To combat this the Gunners must sign a new right sided winger to provide Saka with back up but also competition.
This is where Marcus Edwards can enter the fray. Edwards has been a revelation at Sporting CP this season and he has contributed 7 goals and 5 assists in 13 games. He might have just joined Sporting at the start of this year but a £40 million bid may convince the Portuguese giants to sell.
Edwards is a good finisher and a fantastic chance creator averaging 2.6 chances created per 90 compared to Saka’s 2.3 chances created per 90. He’s also more forward thinking than Saka and likes to pass the ball forward more often than not, averaging 7.5 forward passes compared to Saka’s 6.2. He’s also more direct and likes to use his pace and trickery to beat his man. At 23 he has the potential to improve exponentially and would be a fantastic signing for Arsenal.
Alessandro Bastoni
Gabriel has been pretty decent this season and has come up with a couple of match winning moments most notably against Chelsea in a 1-0 win. But sometimes he has looked rash and shaky but he also doesn’t have any competition at left sided centre back.
With Arsenal challenging in 3 competitions after the World Cup, they will need an alternative to Gabriel, and Bastoni would be perfect for this role. He’s a good tackler with an impressive passing range and he favours forward passes averaging 23 per 90 He has a much more successful long range passing compared to Gabriel averaging 5.2 successful long paseses per 90 with Gabriel averaging 2.5 successful long passes. This can help Arsenal build out from the back even faster and become even more unpredictable.He also has a higher aerial duel success rate compared to Gabriel with 62% against 58%.
He’s a year younger than Gabriel with a high ceiling and is often seen as Italy’s future in defence. He is another high potential player who also has a winning mentality with a Serie A title under his belt. He will be an expensive signing and will cost about £60 million to bring to the Emirates.
Benoit Badiashile
Another alternative option to Gabriel can be the french wonderkid, Benoit Badiashile from Monaco. Benoit is a high potential, young centre half who is an incredible winner of the ball and is excellent aerially.
He has won a monstrous 72.4% of his aerial duels averaging 2.3 per 90. He also has 4.2 clearances compared to Gabriel’s 3.7 and has 1.9 interceptions compared to Gabriel’s 0.9. Badshille is more of a no-nonsense centre back in contrast to Arteta’s preference for ball playing centre halves but he still is incredible at regaining possession and getting the ball out of the danger area.
His main problem is the fact that he is not as forward thinking as Gabriel as he only averaged 19.4 forward passes compared to Gabriel’s 23.6. Even in general, Badsiashile plays 12 less passes per 90 compared to Gabriel averaging 50.3 and he has a lower success percentage than Gabriel with 86% compared to Gabriel ‘s 90%.
However, he does make 7.2 recoveries per 90 compared to Gabriel 4.8 per 90 showing his incredible recovery speed, something that is missing from Gabriel’s skill set as he is often seen lagging behind when beaten by his opponent. Badiashialle would cost around £45 million and although he does not perfectly fit into thai Arsenal’s team idea of playing out of the back, he can be coached into it and show off his other skills to help out the team. At 21, he has extremely high potential and he can become one of the best in the world.




Jonathan David
Gabriel Jesus has been excellent this season and has been the inspiration for a fantastic Arsenal side. But he needs cover and competition up front to help propel him to keep him on his toes and David would be perfect for this role. He's tearing up Ligue 1 with 9 goals and 3 assists, he has a very high shot accuracy with 61% of his shots going on target and 21% of them beating the keeper. He’s not only a clinical goal scorer but also a fairly decent chance creator averaging 1.3 chances created per 90 which is on par with Jesus’s 1.4 per 90.
Although, Jesus does create 4.2 shot creating actions per 90 compared to David’d 2.9 and Jesus is a superior presser to Jonathan David as he regains possession in the opposing half 2 times per 90 compared to David’s 1.1 times per 90. David also attempts less take- ons than Jesus with 0.9 take-ons completed per 90 compared to Jesus’s 2 per 90. David doesn’t drop as deep as Jesus and doesn’t usually carry the ball forward, often preferring to stay up top waiting for the ball to reach the final third before becoming heavily involved in play. David would offer something different to Jesus as more of a focal point up front who can be passed to feet more often.
But in the air is where David struggles, he contests 2.3 aerial duels per 90 but only has a 12% success rate which is significantly lower than Jesus’s 5.2 aerial duels contested per 90 and a 34.3% success rate. David would cost around £45 to £50 million to buy this January and at 22 would be another young player with high potential who can flourish in a great Arsenal side.With a winning mentality which is supported by his Ligue 1 title with Lille, he can help spur Arsenal on to win the Premier League under Mikel Arteta.