It’s the Arsenal press conference and Wenger is being frantically quizzed on his signing of Krystian Bielik. The topic of Gabriel arises and Wenger goes coy and omits the smug smile we all know so famously. One reporter pops up and says: “If Gabriel Paulista joins, will he be Arsenal’s last signing of the window?”… “Not necessarily, no.”
Arsenal fans sure don’t hear those words often. Its already been a hectic window for the Gunners with young, Polish defensive midfielder; Kristian Bielik arriving as ‘one for the future’ and a fee being agreed in principle for Villareal centre-half Gabriel. Wenger seems to be addressing our current problems, another sentence you thought you would never hear, so is there more in store? And if so, where and who?
Outgoing, Yaya Sanogo has joined Palace on loan, Lukas Podolski has joined Inter on loan and to complete the hat-trick of attackers, Joel Campbell is off to Villareal as part of the Gabriel deal. If you can count, that’s THREE attackers departing The Emirates, an area some may feel we are short already. With the centre-back position being covered and the defensive midfielder issue partially resolved, we may expect a forward.
January is a tough time to recruit world-class players, and everyone knows that. Club’s tend to up their valuation of a player in order for club’s to pull out, at least until the summer anyway. Marco Reus, as of 2015, has a release clause of £21 million pound, so Dortmund would have to accept his departure should an offer arrive. But Reus won’t want to leave at this stage, he needs to stay to help them avoid relegation. Realistically a move for Destro seems likely, with the Italian poised to leave Roma. This is a position that requires a lot of attention, and one I’m sure only Wenger will know what’s best.
Kyrstian Bielik is 17 years old, so he surely can’t be in contention to start any Premier League games apart from serious emergencies. Since the long lost days of Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva, a defensive midfielder with experience has been hard to come by for Arsene Wenger. It’s fair to say we need one now, who is ready and aggressive in his play. A loan move for Mario Suarez of Atletico Madrid seems likely with Spanish media reporting the deal most days, but a popular choice would be Morgan Schneiderlin of Southampton. This deal may only be an option in the Summer, according to reports, highlighting he is our long-term target. But offering an deal that seems too hard to turn down would be a decent answer, because let’s face it, who wouldn’t fancy joining Arsenal.
Asier Illarramendi is surplus to requirements at Real Madrid due to Lucas Silva’s arrival. The Spanish international looks set to miss the rest of the season due to a lack of space in the first team, so a move might be of interest to the young midfielder. As a long term admirer of Asier, Wenger may have to splash the cash for this deal, but it’s one that certainly has some legs.