Three realistic January loan deals Arsenal could make to transform their season

Add as preferred source on Google

With finances thought to be very tight for Arsenal in January owing to FFP, the loan market could prove crucial for Mikel Arteta.

Since Arteta arrived at Arsenal towards the end of 2019 he’s welcomed seven players to the club on loan.

Starting shortly after his arrival, Arteta welcomed Cedric Soares and Pablo Mari at the beginning of 2020.

The following season Arsenal loaned all of Mathew Ryan, Dani Ceballos (who extended his deal from the previous year) and Martin Odegaard – who eventually signed permanently.

Since then, Arteta has largely ignored the idea of taking players on loan, with only David Raya arriving since in such a deal, which is angled at being a permanent one.

However, Arsenal have rarely been strapped for cash mid way through the season like they are now.

So with that in mind, here’s three players The Gunners could bring to the Emirates this month to help their title push along.

A striker seems the be the biggest priority from a fan perspective.

And yesterday we explained how Arsenal can sign Karim Benzema this month with spending a penny.

So with that in mind, Arteta will still need two other loan targets.

Arsenal should target Bayern Munich’s Raphael Guerreiro on loan in January

With clubs circling around Raphael Guerreiro for a potential loan move this month via reports, Arsenal should be at the front of the queue.

The Portuguese left-back, who has 65 caps for his country, was unlikely to ever be a consistent starter at Bayern Munich.

Alphonso Davies was always going to be difficult to displace and there may be an opportunity there for Mikel Arteta.

Guerreiro is very capable of inverting into midfield, as well as playing a traditional overlapping role.

In truth, the defender would even be a smart squad addition for Arsenal in the summer.

Seko Fofana is ready for the Premier League

And that leads us to our third target, Seko Fofana.

The Al-Nassr central midfielder is currently away with Ivory Coast at AFCON but is thought to be available on loan this month.

Fofana was excellent in Ligue 1 for several years before heading to Saudi Arabia in the summer.

The 28-year-old could prove an incredibly smart loan for Arsenal in January, who still lack a profile able to nail down the number eight role.

Thomas Partey’s return will massively help in the coming weeks, but Arsenal would be foolish to rely on the Ghanaian given his long injury history.

Fofana doesn’t seem like a player Arsenal would seek permanently beyond a loan deal, but he would definitely improve the squad in the interim.