Arsenal have had a fairly active January window. Edu Gaspar has led a clearout which has seen Sead Kolasinac leave on loan and Sokratis and Mesut Ozil have seen their contracts mutually terminated. Matt Macey also left as the club looked to trim an oversized squad.
Mat Ryan and Martin Odegaard have both come in on loan deals.
But Arsenal don’t look like they are done yet and with less than 48 hours left in the window, the Gunners could be amongst the busier clubs in the final hours with up to five deals possible.
The first deal that looks almost certain is another outgoing. Ainsley Maitland-Niles is expected to leave on loan this month and choose between West Brom and Southampton as his next destination. The Gunners could possibly try to negotiate a loan swap deal including Ryan Bertrand as they look to sign a left back before the deadline. It is thought that Arsenal’s preference is for the player to join Southampton, especially after how poorly the loan spell of Serge Gnabry at West Brom went down.
A club insider told Fresh Arsenal that the Gunners are looking to sign a left-back before the deadline on Monday. Amongst those in the running seem to be Bertrand and also Arsenal have interest in signing Patrick van Aanholt.
Palace are unlikely to stand in the way of van Aanholt should Arsenal make a modest bid. Van Aanholt has slipped to back up for Palace lately and has just 6 months left on his deal. His Premier League experience makes him an option to come in to the Arsenal team straight away and his homegrown status gives the club more flexibility in their squad submission.
So one full back option out and one in. What else? Well the club appear to be willing to part with Skhodran Mustafi. The German was not in the squad to face Manchester United on Saturday evening and Liverpool have been linked. Mustafi has just 6 months left on his current contract and with Calum Chambers back fit again and David Luiz, Gabriel and Rob Holding all ahead of him in the pecking order, he may be allowed to leave his contract early, if the clubs can come to an agreement.
Reiss Nelson is another player who has been on the fringes this season and Arteta has suggested the club will decide his future in the coming days. Nelson has found himself out the squad frequently and aged 21, needs to be looking to play more first team football, so a loan move before the deadline is possible.
Alex Runarsson could also leave before the window shuts following the arrival of Mat Ryan on loan earlier this month. A club insider told Fresh Arsenal that they will consider both temporary and permanent offers for Runarsson, who has failed to impress since his £1million summer move. The club are however keen to keep three senior goalkeepers at the club and following the sale of Macey earlier this month, they may opt to keep Alex until the summer.
Joe Willock is another player struggling for first team minutes and Newcastle are trying to sign the midfielder on a loan deal, according to the Daily Mail.