Arsenal don’t look likely to bring in any players to the first-team squad this month, but that wont stop the speculation from doing the rounds.
Arsene Wenger hinted that there was not going to be any big additions this month, when insisting that he already has a wealth of options in the squad, citing yesterday’s missing men Danny Welbeck, Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil as proof of that.
“Nothing planned at the moment,” he said.
“You look at the players we missed today – no Cazorla and Ozil, we hope to get them back.
“Welbeck is coming back – we have a big squad.”
The sidelined Spaniard is into the final six months of his contract now, and is allowed to discuss terms with clubs outside of England about a possible move. Yaya Sanogo, Jon Toral and club captain Per Mertesacker are also in the same boat, although Santi’s importance is the toughest pill to swallow.
A new name linked with the exit door this month is American Under-23 international Gedion Zelalem. The youngster is supposedly wanted by Borussia Dortmund, and sources indicate that he may also be out of contract in the coming summer. I hope my findings are incorrect, as I’m certain he will follow Gnabry in hitting great heights once given a regular role.
Carl Jenkinson and Mathieu Debuchy are also said to be wanted, but a replacement would have to come in should both leave, and I can’t see Arsene Wenger looking to bring anyone in until the summer.
One who is hoping to earn a contract with our club is Omar Abdulrahman, but that looks unlikely to say the least. We were linked with him four years back and nothing prevailed, and a post on Twitter is unlikely to change that.
Another player we have been linked with previously is Moussa Dembele of Celtic. The striker has been in astonishing form since moving North from Fulham this summer, and is being tipped for a big money return to the Premier League. Brendan Rodgers has failed to deter the attention from his striker, by refusing to rule out his exit.
When asked if he was going this month, the manager responded with ‘I wouldn’t have thought so’. Well that hasn’t convinced me!
Should we look at signing Dembele? Do any of the possible departees need replacing or keeping?
Pat J