This is definitely one of the strangest transfer windows ever due to the pandemic, and we all know that Mikel Arteta and Edu’s main ambition this January has been to clear out the peripheral players from our extremely bloated squad, and Arteta has made it clear that he expects to see more outgoing players today.
The boss totally refused to be specific about any named movements, but did say on Arsenal.com: “We have decided [who could leave on loan today] and we are working on it. You will find out before 11pm.”
The media keep asking about Mustafi, Maitland-Niles, Reiss Nelson and Joe Willock, but again the boss refused to be specific: “You mention a few players, so you have a better chance. The more you mention, the greater the chance you have to get it right! Again, we are discussing things with some players and some clubs, and if we do anything before the deadline, it is because we believe it is the right thing for their development.
“We had some priorities that we wanted to get done, we have managed to have some done, some others we haven’t yet, so let’s wait and see how things develop today and what we are able to do, and what we aren’t.”
Arteta made it clear a couple of weeks ago that we were looking for a left-back to replace Kolasinac, but with a few people in the frame, he couldn’t admit whether there was a guaranteed signing or not. “The last day of the transfer window is always unpredictable so things can happen. They might happen, they might not happen. We are on it.”
So, we are no closer to discovering if we will see anyone new at Arsenal today, but it is nice to know that “We are on it”…..