Yesterday brought the January transfer window to a close so here’s a summary of the business Arsenal done and what I’d rate it out of ten…
Before the window opened Arsenal sat top of the Premier League table, eight points clear and with the best chance they’re going to get at winning a first league title in 19 years.
If the club wanted to make that Premier League dream a reality then they knew they’d have to strengthen in January in order to have the necessary squad depth to compete until the end with the likes of Manchester City.
Arsenal’s first-team January business:
In’s:
- Leandro Trossard – Brighton – £21m
- Jakub Kiwior – Spezia – £22m
- Jorginho – Chelsea – £10m
Out’s:
- Albert Sambi Lokonga – Crystal Palace – Loan
- Marquinhos – Norwich – Loan
- Cedric – Fulham – Loan
Arsenal’s net spending was £53million across the January window. Three permanent incomings & three loan outgoings.
Missing out on Mudryk but Arsenal reacted well…
Before the window opened, Arsenal’s number one target was Mykhailo Mudryk, there’s no denying that. Arsenal spent the majority of the first two weeks of the window trying to make the deal happen. Unfortunately for Mikel Arteta, Chelsea swept in from under Arsenal’s noses and his number one target ended up at the other side of London which was a big blow for Arsenal.
However, Arsenal reacted extremely well, bringing in Leandro Trossard from Brighton for a very respectable fee. The Belgian knows the league well, isn’t going to take time to adapt and is at an age where he can come in and make an instant impact. Mudryk was definitely more of a risk transfer, however one with a much higher ceiling if he goes on to reach his full potential.
With Arsenal aiming to win their first Premier League title since 2003/04, this isn’t the time to take risks. It’s time for certainty’s and Leandro Trossard is a player who will certiantly have big part to play for Arsenal between now and the end of the season.
I like the way Arsenal reacted a lot & I think this season alone, Trossard could have a bigger impact than Mudryk would have had on this Arsenal team.
The surprise signing of Kiwior…
It came out of nowhere and I’m not going to pretend I know loads about Jakub Kiwior, I don’t. However what I do know, I like. The 22-year-old is as versatile as they come which is definitely one of the reasons Mikel Arteta wanted him so badly. He’s mainly a left footed centre back who can cover for Gabriel but can also play many other positions as well.
He’s young, technically very good & provides much needed depth for Arsenal to fight for the Premier League title & potentially the Europa League come the latter stages of the season.
Good move from Arsenal.
No Caicedo, but Jorginho…
Again, Arsenal missed out on their number one target but in the central midfield area this time as they couldn’t convince Brighton to let go of Moises Caicedo and instead turned to Jorginho to provide the cover for Thomas Partey & Granit Xhaka for the remainder of the season.
With Mohamed Elneny out with a long-term injury, bringing in a midfielder this month was vitally important. Mikel Arteta said he didn’t want the window to close without an addition in the middle of the park and he ended up with a player he’s been a big fan of for some time now. He’s tried to sign Jorginho many times before which shows how highly he rates the Italian.
Jorginho is a player who has won it all & can provide vital experience to this young Arsenal team. It’s not a signing that’s going to get you off your seats, however it’s an important signing and one Arsenal had to make this month.
No midfield signing would have killed Mikel Arteta in the second-half of the season & I think Jorginho is better than some Arsenal fans are making out.
I know we have nightmares from buying players from Chelsea recently but that isn’t a reason to not give Jorginho a chance. Especially when Mikel Arteta is the one who wanted him.
Three loans going the other way…
Arsenal brought in the players to provide the necessary depth which meant they could also let some players leave on loan in order to play first-team football for the remainder of the season.
Lokonga’s loan move to Crystal Palace is my favourite of the three. I think it’s a great move. The Belgian needs to play in order to get his confidence back and what better manager to play under than one of the best central midfielders the league has ever seen in Patrick Vieira.
Cedric to Fulham gets his wages off the wage bill for the rest of the season and will allow him to play football, which he wouldn’t have done at Arsenal. Marquinhos’ loan move to Norwich is also a good one, in my opinion. With Trossard coming in his minutes would have been limited and at this stage of his career he needs to play. The Championship will also be a good challenge for the Brazilian.
Rating Arsenal’s January transfer window out of 10…
7/10
I give Arsenal a 7/10. It could have been better, but it could have also been a lot worse, as we’ve seen in the January transfer windows before this one.
Doing business in January isn’t easy and I think what Arsenal have done puts them in a great position to fight for the Premier League title until the very end.
Arsenal sit five points clear at the top of the Premier League table with 19 games to go. Let’s hope this 7/10 window will be enough to see the red & white ribbons on the trophy come May.
What would you rate Arsenal’s January transfer window out of 10?
