Arsenal will look to rectify two pieces of unfinished business in January by signing players in two specific positions, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Gunners fans can be forgiven for looking forward to the rest of the season with a great sense of excitement. Following their commanding 3-0 thumping of Brentford on Sunday, Mikel Arteta’s side top the table going into the international break.
The victory showcased just how excellently Arsenal navigated the summer window given who stood out against the Bees.
William Saliba opened the scoring and after a frustrating three-year wait, is finally making his mark in north London.
Arteta reserved special praise for the French centre-half post-match after detailing how Saliba went above and beyond to feature on Sunday.
Arsenal’s decision to loan Saliba back to France on three occasions in the past drew quizzical looks. However, few can argue the ends haven’t justified the means given the accomplished player Arsenal now have at their disposal.
Gabriel Jesus scored his fourth league goal of the season and was awarded the player of the match by UK broadcaster Sky Sports.
Fellow summer recruit, Fabio Vieira, rounded out the scoring with his maiden Gunners goal.
Oleksandr Zinchenko too has fitted in seamlessly and Arsenal’s excellent summer window is already paying dividends.
However, there were two positions they tried to address but failed to do so – central midfield and winger.
Now, writing in his column for CaughtOffside, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano suggested those two positions could be addressed when the winter window opens.
“I think their priorities will be the same as August: a midfielder and/or winger,” wrote Romano.
“But it will depend on the opportunities in the market and if they find the right player.”
Who Arsenal tried to sign, and who they could sign
Regarding the engine room, Arsenal were heavily linked with Leicester’s Youri Tielemans.
The Belgian has entered the final year of his Foxes contract and a cut-price £25m valuation was touted.
However, Arsenal opted against pulling the trigger, instead pushing to sign Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz.
Several bids were tabled with the highest reaching £25m. However, Villa stood firm and manager Steven Gerrard later explained why the move did not come to pass.
But like Tielemans, Luiz’s contract also expires next summer. Arsenal could therefore push to snap the Brazilian up for free nine months from now, or try their luck with a cut-price deal in January.
On the wings, Arsenal reportedly sought to sign a new wide man, though only one who was capable of making a tangible impact right now.
That led to a bid being placed for Raphinha. However, Arsenal were usurped by Chelsea who in turn were left empty-handed by Barcelona.
Links to Cody Gakpo came and went, but one explosive winger who could be available is Mykhaylo Mudryk.
The Shakhtar Donetsk flyer, 21, has already talked up the idea of joining the Gunners.
Shakhtar chief, Darijo Srna, recently told CBS Sports Everton failed with a £26m summer bid. He’d also known to have attracted the attention of Newcastle and Brentford too.
Romano previously revealed Ukraine’s newest superstar could be available for around £43m in the coming windows.
