Arsenal's 3 most successful January signings of the Premier League era

The January transfer window is just weeks away from reopening and one club who could do with a couple of new players to boost their form in the Premier League right now is Arsenal.

The Gunners are currently without a permanent manager, and clearly have some holes in their squad, but thankfully they’ll have a chance to change that once the window opens.

Arsenal are a club who have some history with the January window, as some of their most successful recent signings joined in the month. Here are the Gunners’ three best January signings in the Premier League era.

#3 Andrey Arshavin (2009)

Andrey Arshavin was responsible for some great moments at Arsenal

After starring for Russia in Euro 2008 during their unexpected run to the semi-finals of the tournament, it was clear that Andrey Arshavin was destined for a bigger club than Zenit St. Petersburg, so it was a surprise when he didn’t move during that summer.

Instead, the attacking midfielder signed with Arsenal in January 2009 on Deadline Day for a fee of around £15m, becoming the Gunners’ then-record signing.

The Russian had an instant impact at the Emirates, scoring all four of Arsenal’s goals in a thrilling 4-4 draw with Liverpool at Anfield in April 2009, and was later named Premier League Player of the Month. That season also saw him named Arsenal’s Player of the Year – despite only being at the club for five months.

Arshavin’s subsequent career at Arsenal nosedived somewhat, as injuries and a loss of form caused him to fall out of favour with the Gunners’ fans, but he still provided more highlights – a winning goal against Liverpool in December 2009, and a winning goal against Barcelona in the Champions League in February 2011, Arsenal’s first win over the Spanish giants.

The Russian midfielder eventually moved back to Zenit in 2012-13, ending his Arsenal career with 144 appearances and 31 goals.

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#2 Emmanuel Adebayor

Emmanuel Adebayor scored 62 goals for Arsenal during his time there

Emmanuel Adebayor might be persona non grata with Arsenal fans these days thanks to his controversial move to Manchester City – and equally controversial goal celebration against his former club – and a later move to the Gunners’ bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur, but the £3m January 2006 signing from Monaco was genuinely fantastic over a period of three and a half seasons at the club.

The Togo international scored on his Arsenal debut against Birmingham City, and ended the 2005-06 season with 4 goals in 13 games – earning the nickname ‘Baby Kanu’ for his resemblance to former Arsenal star Nwankwo Kanu.

2006-07 saw him score 8 Premier League goals – including the winner against Manchester United at Old Trafford – but it was 2007-08 where he really took off, hitting 30 goals in 48 games.

Amongst those goals were a brace against Tottenham, including an acrobatic volley later voted Goal of the Season, two hat-tricks against Derby County, and one against AC Milan in a Champions League match. When he departed the Emirates in the summer of 2009, Adebayor had scored 62 goals in 142 appearances.

#1 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has become an Arsenal hero

Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joined Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018 for a club-record fee of £56m, and despite the Gunners’ struggles over the past couple of seasons, you’d find it hard to make an Arsenal fan claim he’s been anything but a major hit.

Aubameyang scored on his debut for the club – a 5-1 win over Everton – and since then he’s barely looked back.

The speedy hitman scored 10 goals in just 13 Premier League appearances in his first half-season at the club, including 5 goals in his first 6 games, and he also chipped in with 4 assists, too.

When he scored the winner for the Gunners against Huddersfield Town on the final day of 2017-18, he became the final goalscorer under legendary boss Arsene Wenger before the Frenchman’s departure.

Aubameyang didn’t let up in his first full season at the club either, scoring 22 goals to become 2018-19’s Premier League Golden Boot winner alongside Sadio Mane and Mo Salah of Liverpool and endearing himself to Gunners’ fans forever thanks to his brace and assist in a 4-2 win over Tottenham.

The current season has seen him score 12 goals in just 18 appearances across all competitions – and he was named as club captain in November, confirming his spot as the current hero of Arsenal fans.