Arsenal now expecting ‘movement’ in final week of January transfer window

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Arsenal are likely to conduct some business in the last week of the January transfer window.

It has been an incredibly quiet January transfer window for Arsenal so far, with no players coming in or out of the club. 

The Gunners have been linked with a plethora of potential acquisitions. Most notably, Ivan Toney has been heavily linked with a switch to the Emirates Stadium. On top of that, Aston Villa star Douglas Luiz has been dubbed Mikel Arteta’s “dream” signing. 

However, the north London club have an extremely limited transfer budget at their disposal and will likely have to sell in order to buy. Arsenal will also be very conscious of the Premier League financial regulations, having seen Everton and Nottingham Forest recently charged for breaching said rules. 

The Gunners are currently actively seeking to move two fringe players on, with Cedric Soares and Mohamed Elneny both deemed surplus to requirements. In terms of departures, there is likely to be some transfer action at Arsenal before the window closes. 

According to Fabrizio Romano, writing in his Daily Briefing, “in terms of other players who could leave Arsenal, I’d keep it open for Cedric Soares and more players. Nothing is imminent at this stage but next week some movement could take place for the outgoings, let’s see.”

Mikel Arteta seeking to clear the decks at Arsenal

Cedric is certainly not a part of Arteta’s plans, having barely played for the last two seasons. So far in the current campaign, the Portuguese right-back has made just two appearances across all competitions, and hasn’t played a minute of Premier League football. Considering the likes of Jurrien Timber, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Ben White have all struggled with injury issues this season, it is abundantly clear that Arteta has no faith in the 32-year-old.

Similar could be said of Elneny. The Egyptian veteran loves the club and has been a valued servant, but he is behind Declan Rice, Thomas Partey, and Jorginho in the pecking order. He is not of the required standard for a team with Premier League title-winning aspirations. 

The best thing for both players now is to move on and enjoy some more regular game time in the latter stages of their careers elsewhere. 

It seems that Cedric is closest to an exit. Whether a new full-back is brought in to replace him remains to be seen. Arsenal have been linked with Roma defender Leonardo Spinazzola, who is thought to be available in a cut-price deal due to his current contract situation.