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Arsenal may well have brought in both, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Abuameyang in what will be seen as a rather successful January transfer window, but they arguably missed a trick in a couple of other positions.
It’s clear their defensive woes remain, as the result at Swansea showed on Tuesday night. However, Wenger still chose to ignore the defensive issues at the club. The team is struggling to score goals too, so it’s somewhat understandable he brought in attackers to immediately replace Alexis Sanchez’s output, but their defensive unit remains a problem.
That being said, here are 5 players the Gunners should have targeted in January:
#5 Jean Seri
Jean Seri would have been an impressive signing for the Gunners in the transfer window, and could have made an immediate impact on the side.
Arsenal and Arsene Wenger have seen a resurgence in Jack Wilshere’s form, which has been welcomed, but the club has clearly lost an edge defensively. Even moving to a three in midfield and including Mohamed Elneny, the team are struggling to defend as a unit without an out-and-out defensive midfielder.
Granit Xhaka has seen regular game time whilst he has struggled immensely, mainly because there are no other players to replace him in the Arsenal squad.
If Seri was to arrive at Arsenal, he could displace Xhaka and make him work harder to keep his place in the team. Otherwise, he could join him in midfield and improve his game as he would be able to focus more on his passing and less on defending, which he has found difficult since coming to England.
Seri is excellent and hard-working both on and off the ball, something Arsenal are seemingly lacking currently with most of their midfielders mostly interested in attacking.
The transfer window may have ended now, but it would have been the right decision by Wenger to try and bring in Seri midway through the season. It could now be an option for Arsenal to try and buy the Ivorian this summer instead, as they try and rebuild their squad.
#4 Kostas Manolas
With Arsenal’s defensive issues remaining quite clear, they desperately needed and should have brought in a central defender in the January transfer window. There were rumours of the club being interested in both David Luiz and Jonny Evans, but Kostas Manolas could have been a great investment for the future for Arsenal at the back.
Both Luiz and Evans are 30, whilst Manolas is still just 26-years-old. The Greek defender has offered such solidity at the back for Roma and would have been a great addition to Arsenal.
The Gunners supposedly ‘failed with a late bid’ but they should have targeted the centre-back earlier in the window and got the deal over the line.
He is a defender who throws everything on the line when defending for the team, and gives 100% everytime he steps on the pitch. Currently, Arsenal’s back two of Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi are visibly struggling for cohesion.
Although Mustafi is a great defender at times, he seems to struggle playing in Arsenal’s system, mainly because of the team’s high line. The German often gets caught out and just doesn’t have the pace to recover from a mistake, something Manolas does have.
Therefore, if Manolas was to have come in, Arsenal could have seen a huge improvement, but it just wasn’t to be. However, they should try and sign the centre-back again in the summer instead of moving for either of Evans or Luiz again.
#3 Bernd Leno
Young Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno would be the perfect goalkeeping addition for the Gunners, and should have been targeted in January.
It is rather difficult to buy a goalkeeper in January, but it is something Arsenal needed so desperately.
Petr Cech has had many great years at the top level, but those times are quite clearly up. The 35-year-old has had his most difficult season to date this season and that was only highlighted when he made a massive mess in his attempt to clear the ball from a pass back only to pass to Jordan Ayew right in front of him against Swansea on Tuesday.
Leno is just 25 years old, and has shown lots of talent since making the switch to Leverkusen in 2011, where he instantly became number one, even as an 18-year-old.
He’s extremely quick off his line when necessary, and is a great natural shot-stopper. With him in goal, he could gain Arsenal points each season with the number of great saves he makes, something Cech just isn’t doing for them currently.
Moreover, with Arsenal looking quite likely to miss out on a UEFA Champions League place, the Gunners will need to move for a player who isn’t desperate for Champions League football.
Leno could look at the fact that Arsenal are in a rebuilding stage, as well as the fact that he will be assured the number one position, and could well decide to grasp the opportunity.
Even though they didn’t end up targetting the German in January, Arsenal should definitely look to sign him this upcoming summer window.
#2 Steven N'zonzi
Steven N'zonzi, similarly to Seri, would make a massive improvement to the Arsenal side, and therefore would have been a great signing in January, had the Gunners targeted the Frenchman.
What makes matters worse, is N'zonzi was seemingly up for a move back to the Premier League with reports suggesting he favoured a move back to London with his son living in the capital.
Furthermore, under Sevilla’s former boss Eduardo Berizzo, he was struggling to find a place in the side and was unhappy. Even with them appointing a new boss right at the end of September, the Gunners could have swooped in early in the window and persuaded him to move to North London and sign for the club. But, Arsenal didn’t make a move.
N'zonzi is a wonderful player and would fit right in with the way Arsenal play. He does his job perfectly, winning the ball back and distributing it perfectly. Most of all, he shows great strength so often, something Arsenal lack massively.
He’s strong in the tackle and excellent on the ball, meaning Arsenal would not be losing any technical ability in the midfield role, and would be gaining a player in midfield who can also defend extremely well.
The 29-year-old is just so calm and controlled on the ball deep in midfield, similarly to Sergio Busquets, and it’s just what Arsenal need.
The Gunners should have definitely targeted N'zonzi in January, and had they recruited him, he would have been the perfect signing.
#1 Nabil Fekir
Arsenal may have brought in two attackers and should mainly be looking at defenders and goalkeepers, but Nabil Fekir would be a fantastic signing for the Gunners regardless of that.
The Frenchman’s dad has even previously said in an interview: “If he leaves it will be for Arsenal. It’s the only club that can enable him to progress, with Arsene Wenger.”
Therefore, it would potentially be quite easy to persuade the attacking midfielder to move to North London and join the Gunners. Not to mention the fact that Alexandre Lacazette could persuade his former team-mate to make the switch if Arsenal were to be interested.
Defenders should be the focus, Fekir could be brought in alongside the defensive additions, and Arsenal should have targeted, and tried to get him in January in order to make sure Chelsea or any other English club don’t buy him.
To add to that, the 24-year-old would make massive improvements to this Arsenal side in terms of scoring goals and he has a long future ahead of him. He’s arguably the most attainable, yet impressive attacking midfielder for Arsenal to buy in world football currently.
This season, he has 16 goals in just 19 league appearances, illustrating just how good he has been for Lyon. Arsenal should have targeted the Frenchman as he would have made an enormous impact on their run in to the end of this season.
