The transfer window slammed shut on Monday night, and Arsenal were left with no signings.
Mikel Arteta’s squad was crying out for a forward reinforcement, but the Gunners were ultimately unable to attain one.
Ollie Watkins was pursued by Arsenal late in the window, while the likes of Benjamin Sesko, Mathys Tel and Matheus Cunha were all seriously linked with a switch to N5.
Arsenal fans were left frustrated by the lack of incomings, although the club weren’t keen on acquiring a long-term addition who could scupper their summer plans.
However, that may not prevent them from dipping into the free agent market, as Arteta desperately needs a final depth piece to ensure Arsenal’s attacking options don’t burn out in the remainder of this season.
With that in mind, here are three free agents Arsenal could consider signing now that the window has shut.
Rafinha
The free agent sphere is not blessed with an abundance of great options at the moment, but Arsenal could do worse than pick up an experienced former Barcelona creative midfielder on a short-term deal.
Rafinha made 90 appearances for the Catalan giants between 2011 and 2020.
Troubled by injuries throughout his career, the Brazilian is blessed with supreme technical quality and elegance on the ball.
Released by Qatari side Al-Arabi last summer, the 31-year-old hasn’t played in Europe since his stint at Real Sociedad in the 2021/22 season.
Despite this, the Gunners need an alternative to Martin Odegaard, who has looked fatigued in recent matches, and Rafinha is the best free agent option to fulfil this role.
Ryan Kent
After falling out of favour at Fenerbahce, former Rangers winger Ryan Kent mutually agreed to terminate his contract with the Turkish club in October.
Kent hasn’t found a club since, but is still only 28 and would be an adequate back-up option to Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard on the left-wing.
The Englishman enjoyed impressive seasons for Rangers between 2019 and 2023, with his powerful running style and rip-roaring long range efforts making him well accustomed to Premier League football.
He’d likely be enticed by a sporadic squad role at the Emirates for the rest of the season.
Diego Costa
Perhaps an outlandish suggestion, Diego Costa is without a club after being released by Brazilian side Gremio at the start of 2025.
Despite enduring an impotent spell at Wolves in the 2022/23 season, the former Chelsea man demonstrated that he can still score goals by netting eight for Gremio last year.
Described by Jurgen Klopp as ‘world class’ back in 2016 (via the Guardian), Costa still boasts some of the elite physical attributes that saw him thrive for the Blues in the Premier League previously.
Costa developed a pantomime villain reputation amongst Arsenal fans after the 2017 FA Cup final, but would be adored by the Gunners faithful if he were to come in now and make any meaningful impact on the season.
The 36-year-old would be deployed as an ‘only in emergencies’ option by Arteta, although he’d certainly be better than relying upon an academy prospect that isn’t ready for first team football, if anything were to happen to Kai Havertz.
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