Mikel Arteta will be hopeful that Arsenal’s recruitment chiefs can boost his squad this month.
The Gunners have endured a difficult season and sit six points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, who also hold a game in hand. Arteta will be looking to resurrect his side’s title bid over the second half of the campaign.
But to do that, he will need reinforcements, with his squad creaking under the weight of a raft on injuries. The Gunners look set to bring in Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi at the end of the season.
Arteta will be hoping for some immediate arrivals though to boost his push for silverware this campaign. Here, MirrorFootball looks at how Arsenal could be lining up over the second-half of the season.
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The top priority for the Gunners this month is certainly signing a new striker. Kai Havertz has scored just seven goals so far this season, while Gabriel Jesus appears to have suffered a significant injury in the defeat to Manchester United.
Even before Jesus’ injury, it was clear Arsenal needed to bring more goals into their team. With Alexander Isak out of reach, Randal Kolo Muani could be at the top of Arsenal’s shopping list.
The Frenchman is out of favour at PSG, who are ready to let him leave in this month’s transfer window. While he has not hit the goal trail in Paris, Kolo Muani was a regular scorer for Eintracht Frankfurt.
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He would start up-front for Arteta’s side and would be joined in the forward line by another top target in Nico Williams. The Gunners have long been linked with the Athletic Bilbao star and in this dream scenario would be able to finally sign the winger.
He would replace the injured Bukayo Saka on the right wing, having played a key role in helping Spain to win Euro 2024. With Zubimendi not joining until the summer, the rest of Arteta’s side would be unchanged.
That means that David Raya would line up in goal, having enjoyed a successful second season at the Emirates. Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori could be selected as the two full-backs, having risen above the likes of Ben White and Oleksandr Zinchenko in the pecking order.
At centre-back, William Saliba and Gabriel have once again proven to be one of the best pairings in the Premier League. There is little chance Arteta splits the duo up, unless one suffers a major injury.
Then in midfield, Declan Rice and summer signing Mikel Merino could be the two holding midfielders. That leaves a spot for captain Martin Odegaard as the central attacking midfielder.
Arsenal’s dream line-up: David Raya; Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Gabriel, Riccardo Calafiori; Declan Rice, Mikel Merino, Martin Odegaard; Nico Williams, Randal Kolo Muani, Gabriel Martinelli
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