How Eberechi Eze’s Arsenal deal unfolded and where he will fit in under Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners lead the Premier League but must strengthen to keep it that way
Viktor Gyokeres may be yet to truly establish himself at the Emirates Stadium but he’s already 33% of the way towards matching Arsenal’s 2024/25 top scorers in the Premier League and all competitions - from just 25% of the games for the latter.
Meanwhile Martin Zubimendi has fixed Arsenal’s midfield as advertised, Eberechi Eze is already a fan favourite, Noni Madueke is an upgrade behind Bukayo Saka, and Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie have added crucial defensive depth.
Arsenal’s fourth consecutive title challenge hasn’t just been fired by new arrivals either - Ricciardo Calafiori is only two matches away from eclipsing his minutes played in 2024/25 and Gabriel Martinelli is 40% of the way towards matching last season’s goals tally while their defensive core of David Raya, Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba have been as good as ever.
If Arsenal are to challenge for their second piece of major silverware since Arsene Wenger departed, and their first league title since 2003, they could do with further strengthening the squad and perhaps sprinkling some more stardust on the starting XI.
So with that in mind, we dived into the Football Manager 26 Beta, simmed through to February and here is its January transfer window prediction:
Zakaria adds further strength to packed Arsenal midfield
Marlon Gomes - £17 million from Shakhtar Donetsk - Do Arsenal really need a young prospect to rotate in the midfield? They’re pretty packed with options there but Gomes would provide a game-breaking ability, and the defensive solidity to bring on and protect a lead as a versatile squad player. Whether that’s his dream aged 21, or the best use of £17m by Arsenal remains to be seen though.
Luca Philipp - £325,000 from TSG Hoffenheim - A back-up goalkeeper in the Bundesliga, this probably isn’t the signing that will make or break Arsenal’s title ambitions.
Denis Zakaria - £73m from Monaco - There’s been a curious phenomenon in recent windows where much over €75m and less than €100m has become something of a desert for player transfers. In the last two seasons, Hugo Ekitike is the only player to transfer for €78m-€99m but Zakaria would be joining the Frenchman in this prediction and hey, there’s worse company to keep!
The 28-year-old does have an all-round game but there’s no denying he excels as an old-school midfield enforcer, as one of the best in Europe’s top five leagues in his position for tackles success rate and interceptions.
Alvaro Fidalgo - £500,000 from Club America - A similar transfer to Norgaard in many ways, the former Real Madrid academy prospect and Spanish youth international has only been playing regular, first-team football since 2021 but has racked up over 200 appearances for Club America in that time and now captains the Liga MX outfit.
One of the most prolific and accomplished passers in the division, Fidalgo would be a cheap option with plenty of potential for improvement who would be a solid rotation option for Arteta and bring leadership off the pitch too.
£86m in departures offsets Arsenal spending spree
Kai Havertz - £36m to Bayern Munich - The German has only played 30 minutes this season thanks to a knee injury, but he was always likely to find his involvement more limited following the arrival of Eze and Gyokeres.
Interestingly, with this transfer Havertz would jump ahead of nine players including Kylian Mbappe, Philippe Coutinho and Antoine Griezmann two become the seventh most expensive footballer in history by cumulative transfer - who else forgot that Chelsea paid £75m for Havertz back in 2020?
Mikel Merino - £14m to Paris Saint-Germain - Likewise, Merino has played just 300 Premier League minutes so it’s no surprise to see the 29-year-old depart to youthful PSG on loan, with the obligation to buy the Spaniard for £14m next summer.
Jakub Kiwior - £25m to Porto - Another straightforward one, Porto are obliged to buy the Pole at the end of his loan spell in Portugal. And it looks set to be money well spent - Kiwior has started every league game since his arrival and it took 298 minutes for him to concede a goal as Porto boast the best defensive record in the division.
Reiss Nelson - £11m to AS Roma - Having failed to make an impact in the Premier League at three different clubs, Arsenal would do well to get eight figures for Nelson so this is a ‘bite your hand off’ type of offer from Roma.
Archie Stevens - £275,000 to Sunderland - . And Ismeal Kabia departs for Vitesse on a nominal fee, if they still exist by then. Meanwhile Josh Nichols and Tommy Setford head to Yorkshire on loan, to Barnsley and Bradford respectively.
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