Arsenal drop hint about free transfer after naming only 21 players above the age of 21 in their squad

Arsenal have reportedly dropped a major hint that they will enter the free agent market before the January transfer window.

According to The Mirror, the Gunners have named 21 players in their Premier League squad over the age of 21, meaning they have space for more additions.

The league leaders appear to be light in central midfield following Mohamed Elneny's significant hamstring injury. Thomas Partey has also suffered numerous injury problems since his arrival at the Emirates Stadium from Atletico Madrid in 2020. Meanwhile, Granit Xhaka has a history of picking up suspensions.

Arsenal attempted to bring in another central-midfielder on deadline day, but saw numerous bids for Aston Villa's Douglas Luiz rejected. The following day, Arteta admitted in a press-conference (as quoted by the previously referenced Mirror article):

"Yesterday we could have done something if it was the right player, the right deal, and something we could afford. Sometimes you have to react to something that happens, we would have done that, it was a real possibility yesterday. We tried but then we kept the discipline to say it had to be the right player for the team and the club."

The report also mentions 27-year-old midfielder Xeka, who has been without a club since leaving Lille at the end of last season. The Portuguese enforcer played over 100 times for the French side so far. He helped them win the Ligue 1 title in the 2020-21 campaign.

Arsene Wenger backs Arsenal for unlikely title challenge this season

The Gunners haven't won a Premier League title since their unbeaten season in 2003-04. However, following their excellent start to the campaign, legendary manager Arsene Wenger sees no reason why Arsenal can't compete with Manchester City this term.

The 72-year-old Frenchman spent 22 seasons at the north London club before being replaced by Unai Emery in 2018. Wenger told reporters (as per The Sun):

“I would say they are moving in the right direction. I honestly think there is no weak position in the team, they are young, promising players and they have bought well this year."

He added:

“There is no completely dominating team this season and Arsenal has a chance with the potential that is there. We used to be in the top four and why not again? You cannot even rule out the fact that they can fight for the title and hopefully they can do it.”

Arsenal are currently at the top of the Premier League table, having won five of their six matches so far. They will next travel to face Brentford on Sunday, September 18.