Keys to a Successful 2016 January Transfer Window for Arsenal

The January transfer window is now open, and a wearied Arsenal squad have an opportunity to take an important pit stop as they launch into the second half of the Premier League campaign. Their aim is clear—to end a 12-year wait for a Premier League title.

Certainly, the championship is within their grasp. Arsenal have begun 2016 at the summit of the table, and they have a superb chance of strengthening their grip on top spot. However, they can help themselves towards that goal by undertaking some business in the transfer window.

Back in the summer, Arsene Wenger felt his squad was sufficiently strong to eschew signing a single outfield player. His only senior recruit was goalkeeper Petr Cech, who was brought in from Chelsea. Cech has been an outstanding signing, but in the intervening months some of the other gaps in the Arsenal roster have been exposed.

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That’s particularly been the case in central midfield. Arsenal have recently been without Jack Wilshere, Mikel Arteta, Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla through injury. In their collective absence, Wenger has been forced to rely on Aaron Ramsey and Mathieu Flamini to hold the fort.

Ramsey and Flamini are not a natural partnership. Both are high-tempo players, whose desire to influence the game can see them drawn out of position. With Ramsey, that can have tremendous benefit—he has an enviable habit of taking up dangerous positions in the final third. However, that means he needs a player alongside him who is incredibly disciplined—and that’s not necessarily true of Flamini. Although the Frenchman is a dogged ball-winner, he’s not someone blessed with Arteta’s ability to read the game, nor Coquelin’s dedication to his defensive duties.

Arsenal desperately need a midfield signing, and Wenger has admitted as much to Sky Sports:

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Ideally, I would like first our injuries to come back. After that, I think at least one. 

We still have players with a lack of experience in midfield like Calum Chambers, Alex Iwobi, Jeff Reine-Adelaide, and Joseph Willock. They can all play. But at the moment, because there is so much at stake, it is very difficult to get the young players to start, but they have the quality.

"

Currently, Ramsey is one of the first names on the teamsheet. Wenger’s conundrum is to find a way to rebalance the midfield with the Welshman playing through the centre.

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Perhaps he believes that Mohamed Elneny can help him do that. According to Sky Sports, Arsenal are on the verge of bringing the Egypt international to north London, making him their first signing of the January window.

In some ways, it’s a surprising move. Elneny is hardly a household name on these shores, and the little English fans have seen of him does not suggest that he is a typical holding player.

Elneny, who has spent the last three years with Swiss champions FC Basel, is an energetic box-to-box type who is renowned for covering huge expanses of ground. According to ESPN, he ran a staggering 23 kilometres in last season’s game against Real Madrid—more than any other player on the field.

Elneny himself said in an interview with Swiss outlet Aargauer Zeitung (h/t ESPN):

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Running is part of my job, and I like to be in motion. As a child, I often played for 10 hours on the street, and that's where I learned to run nonstop in the heat. I have to help the team with my strengths. When my teammates see me running, they run more themselves as well.

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Those inspirational energy levels will doubtless be a useful asset to Arsenal, but they seem more akin to Ramsey’s rambunctious style than Coquelin’s sitting approach.

There are two possible scenarios here. One is that Wenger sees in Elneny the attributes required to be converting a pure holding player who can provide the necessary platform for Ramsey to thrive.

Wenger has a storied record of deploying players to great effect, and the 23-year-old could simply be the latest subject of a Wenger-led tactical transformation.

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Alternatively, perhaps he isn’t intended as a defensive midfield signing, but more a utility player who can replace the versatile Flamini in the longer term.

It may be that the kind of specialist Arsenal fans crave simply isn't available as expediently as the Gunners require reinforcement. That could mean Arsenal having to muddle through in midfield until Coquelin returns in the sprint.

For Arsenal’s window to be deemed a true success, Elneny will probably have to prove his credentials as a regular partner for Ramsey.

It’s intriguing that Wenger talks of “at least one” arrival. While the acquisition of Elneny is seen as a necessity, there is certainly room for more additions.

Attack is the most interesting area to assess here. Danny Welbeck has suffered a setback to his knee injury that means he’s unlikely to return in January, and even when he does, it will take him time to regain his previous level of sharpness.

Arsenal have seemingly been after a marquee centre-forward for some time, and some reports suggest they may have identified a potential target for the January window.

Justin Allen of the Sun writes:

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Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is eyeing a shock £42 million move for Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang this month.

An intermediary is now talking to the Bundesliga club on the Gunners’ behalf. Aubameyang has scored 24 goals in 23 appearances this season — and told friends that he wants to play in the Premier League.

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Arsenal’s don’t desperately need a player like Aubameyang. However, his arrival would undeniably be a huge fillip to their hopes of lifting the Premier League title.

Landing a big name like this would not only bring variety and depth to Wenger’s attacking options—it would also be a huge lift to everyone associated with the club, much like the addition of Jose Antonio Reyes midway through the 2003/04 "Invincibles" campaign.

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As far as outgoings are concerned, French full-back Mathieu Debuchy is the only senior player likely to depart—Joseph Pearson of the Daily Express claims that he could be making a loan move to West Brom. However, the Gunners should be capable of covering for his absence with Hector Bellerin and Chambers.

The success of this window is more likely to be determined by what Wenger is able to bring in. If Arsenal could add some stardust to their squad on top of the more necessary but less thrilling purchase of a player like Elneny, the Gunners will end the month in a far stronger position.

 

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout 2015/16. Follow him on Twitter here.