Arsenal could sign a player after the transfer window due to Premier League squad registration rules, with a deadline extending to March if squad slots remain unused
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is training with Arsenal(Image: Getty)
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Despite the transfer window closing, Arsenal still have a brief extension to finalise one more deal. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has been training with the under-21s for the past few months, can still be signed due to a Premier League rule.
The midfielder's initial deadline to find a new club is Thursday, 5 February. However, if a team leaves any of its 25 senior squad slots vacant when submitting their list on 5 February, they have until 26 March to add a player.
Currently, Arsenal have filled 21 of their 25 senior spots. Cristhian Mosquera and Myles Lewis-Skelly are registered as Under-21 players. Oxlade-Chamberlain is being touted as a potential short-term solution for Arsenal, particularly with Mikel Merino facing a long absence after sustaining a foot injury in the defeat to Manchester United that will require surgery.
The former Liverpool and Gunners midfielder has been without a club since leaving Besiktas last summer. Just hours before Monday's deadline, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was asked about the idea of signing Oxlade-Chamberlain as a temporary measure.
Arteta conceded the club are considering all options, stating: "Of course. I mean, when you lose a big player like this in the squad with four months to go and all the competitions to play for, you need to look."
"We need to do everything that we possibly can, to see if we have a player that is available. And, if we don't, we keep what we have.
"At this level, especially for four months, you have to be a player that has the capacity to adapt immediately and impact the team.
"That's not easy. But if it were easy, we wouldn't be here. So, we need to find solutions and try."
Oxlade-Chamberlain - who spent six years at Arsenal between 2011 and 2017 - has been building up his fitness and even featured in a first-team session in late January. Elsewhere, the Gunners managed to secure a double deadline day swoop for Evan Mooney and Jaden Dixon from St Mirren and Stoke City, respectively.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain training with the first team(Image: Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
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Meanwhile, Louie Copley, Ethan Nwaneri and Will Sweet all departed on loan, whilst Maldini Kacurri, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Osman Kamara left on permanent deals.