6 Players That Arsenal Should Pursue In The January Transfer Window

Although Arsene Wenger and the Arsenal brass had a successful summer transfer period (including signing Alexis Sanchez, Mathieu Debuchy, Calum Chambers, David Ospina, and Danny Welbeck), there appears to still be unfinished business with incoming transfers. While Arsenal won’t secure all of the following transfers, let’s take a look at six possible transfer targets for the Gunners in the upcoming January transfer market.

1. Sami Khedira

Perhaps the most likely out of the six, Khedira would be a nice fit for the Gunners. The 27-year-old Germany international plays in a position in which Arsenal is currently light at (defensive midfielder) and has a fantastic relationship with Mesut Özil both on and off of the pitch.

Real Madrid is reportedly open to selling Khedira, as his contract expires at the end of the season. While Khedira is a solid player, there are concerns about his recent injury record, something that the Gunners need to be extra careful about. Reports have recently surfaced that a deal is already in place between Madrid and Arsenal for around $19 million.

2. Morgan Schneiderlin

With Southampton playing so well at the moment, this transfer will be hard to complete. The club from the south coast is currently third in the table, despite selling major pieces of their squad during the summer. Schneiderlin was linked with Arsenal during the summer, and even reportedly tried to make the switch to London happen, but Southampton ended up blocking the transfer.

Schneiderlin has recently stated that he wanted to play Champions League or Europa League soccer, but chose not to force a transfer due to loyalty to the club and fan support. The 24-year-old France international is exactly the type of player that Arsenal needs. The Gunners may currently be in a different situation if in fact they did pull off a transfer for the talented defensive midfielder in August.

3. Marco Reus

Although Arsenal was unsuccessful in a summer deal for Reus, the Gunners are said to be lining up a move in January for the Germany international. Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp wants to keep the superstar winger, but with the German club possibly losing Reus next summer for a measly $32 million due to a buy-out clause, Klopp may want to cash in on Reus for a fee of about $45 million in January.

Arsenal is joined by Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Manchester United in the pursuit of the world-class Reus. Dortmund has also reportedly lined up Paris Saint-Germain’s Javier Pastore as a possible replacement of Reus. While possibly unlikely, a deal for Reus would both improve Arsenal and make fan-favorite Lukas Podolski available for a January transfer.

4. Edinson Cavani

A move for Paris Saint Germain’s Edinson Cavani would certainly raise eyebrows around the soccer world for two reasons. One, the Gunners would have to smash their transfer record to sign the Uruguay international, and two, Arsenal is currently fairly deep at the forward position (although Cavani would be an upgrade to any of Arsenal’s current center-forwards).

Although reports suggest that Cavani is unhappy at PSG and that Wenger is already working on a deal for the superstar, the Gunners have more important needs in their team (defensive midfield and defense). In saying that, I don’t believe any Arsenal fan would complain if their beloved team was to sign Cavani in January.

5. Fabian Delph

Delph’s stock has risen quickly since being called into the England national team in September. The 24-year-old can be deployed both in the central midfield and in the defensive midfield holding role. Delph may not be the “sexy” name that Arsenal fans are hoping for, but the Aston Villa player is one of the more underrated Premier League players.

Villa recently offered a new contract to Delph, however, the player has yet to put pen to paper on the deal. Delph’s current contract runs out at the end of the season and Arsenal will not be the only club to be interested in the newly promoted England international.

6. Aymeric Laporte

While Laporte may not be a household name right now, he will be soon enough. The highly-rated Athletic Bilbao center-back is a strong, versatile, tough-tackling defender, and is just 20 years of age. Nonetheless, Bilbao does not want to let their young starlet go, and a move for Laporte could cost the Gunners (or any other club) about $54 million due to his reported release clause.

Arsenal could use an additional defender at the club. With Calum Chambers currently covering for the injured Mathieu Debuchy at right-back, the Gunners only have two solid senior players at the center-back position.