Vlahovic in, Aubameyang out: What Arsenal need in January transfer window

James Shearman

• Updated: 22 Dec 2021 22:34 GMT
• 4 min read

Arsenal's recent improvement has been slightly overrated, helped by the situations at Tottenham and Manchester United, but they are certainly heading in the right direction.

Mikel Arteta's job looked under serious threat after three consecutive defeats to open the Premier League season, but a fine run of form in recent weeks sees the Gunners in fourth place at Christmas.

The turnaround can be attributed to the new additions working well with a handful of talented youngsters, as many of the old guard have been left on the sidelines.

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Now, the Gunners must continue with this approach if they are to reestablish themselves within the Premier League's 'top four'.

Here are the moves they should be looking to make in the January transfer window.

Goalkeepers

Arsenal suffered plenty of criticism for allowing Emiliano Martinez to leave the club after his FA Cup heroics in 2019. The Argentine had an excellent debut season at Aston Villa and, recently, won the Copa America alongside Lionel Messi.

However, in 23-year-old Aaron Ramsdale, they have found a long-term replacement. The former Sheffield United goalkeeper's passion and humorous engagement with opposition fans has been a breath of fresh air, as well as his stellar performances of course.

This has left Bernd Leno in a difficult position, which could be resolved by a move away from the club.

Defenders

Arsenal have an excess of defenders at the club, meaning there are likely to be a number of exits next month.

Sead Kolasinac has been demoted to an unnecessary third-choice left-back, following the arrival of Nuno Tavares.

Meanwhile, Rob Holding and Calum Chambers have decent market values, as home-grown players, so Arsenal should look to cash in. Bottom-half Premier League clubs could offer around £10 million for each of them, which would help to balance the books after the club's summer spending spree.

Midfielders

Emile Smith Rowe and Martin Odegaard are currently enjoying a healthy battle for the Gunners' starting playmaker role.

It is, instead, a holding midfielder that is on Arteta's shopping list. Thomas Partey is a quality player with injury concerns, Albert Sambi Lokonga has been positive but massively inexperienced while Granit Xhaka is decent at best. Mohamed Elneny is simply not good enough and can be expected to leave north London.

Denis Zakaria is one of the names that should be of interest to Arsenal, with less than a year a year left on his contract. The 25-year-old will be available for little over €15m next month.

Forwards

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's disciplinary issues have cost him the captaincy of the club and potentially his Arsenal future too. Although, the Gabon international signed a lucrative new deal in the summer of 2020 so getting rid of him will be a huge challenge.

Nicolas Pepe is another out-of-favour forward who could be let go, especially if shipping Aubameyang's £350,000 a week contract proves impossible.

As an ideal replacement, Dusan Vlahovic could make a highly-anticipated move to the Premier League. The Fiorentina man has been tearing it up in Serie A, with 16 goals in 18 league appearances this season. The Serbian will cost a fortune, in the region of €80m, but beating the likes of Liverpool and arch-rivals Spurs to his signature would be a remarkable statement signing.