5 Players Arsenal Should Have Moved for on Deadline Day

The transfer window is now closed, and Arsenal’s only piece of incoming business was the recruitment of previously unknown Cohen Bramall from non-league Hednesford Town.

Arsene Wenger’s decision not to invest heavily in his squad is understandable. Arsenal’s current squad is replete with talent, as illustrated by the convincing 5-0 FA Cup win over Southampton. Wenger was able to rotate heavily, with several of the supposed understudies taking starring roles.

However, there will be those among the Arsenal support who are concerned that Arsenal have let an important opportunity to strengthen the side pass, and that feeling was reinforced with the sorry home 2-1 loss to Watford on Tuesday night.

If the Gunners come up short and fail to land silverware this season, fingers will doubtless be pointed at Wenger and his transfer inactivity.

In this piece, we identify five players Arsenal fans might wish they’d signed in this window—and rank them according to how much they would have helped the Gunners’ 2016/17 campaign.

5. Danilo Pereira

Midfield is the one area where Arsenal have been sorely hit with injuries and suspensions this season. At the start of the 2016/17 campaign, Wenger had such a plethora of midfield talent at his disposal that he felt comfortable enough to loan Jack Wilshere to Bournemouth.

Fast-forward to deadline day, and Arsenal had just two fit senior central midfielders in Aaron Ramsey and Francis Coquelin. That may become one, as Ramsey went off injured against Watford on Tuesday night—after an awful 20-minute display.

Santi Cazorla is injured, Granit Xhaka is suspended, while Mohamed Elneny is suffering fitness problems of his own on international duty with Egypt.

According to Portuguese paper A Bola (h/t Metro), Arsenal dispatched scouts to watch Danilo Pereira in action for Porto this month. He reportedly has a £34.5 million release clause that the Gunners could trigger at any time.

Danilo’s power and defensive awareness would doubtless be a useful addition to the Arsenal midfield. However, Wenger would counter that his acquisition would create a surfeit of players in the middle of the park once Cazorla, Xhaka and Elneny are available for selection again. His arrival would have been useful in the short term, but his fee is very high for a player who could not be deemed a necessary addition.

4. Benjamin Mendy

AS Monaco’s goalscoring exploits in Ligue 1 have made them one of the most attractive teams in Europe this season. However, it’s not just their attackers who’ve caught the eye. Left-back Benjamin Mendy has been nothing short of a revelation.

Wenger knows him well—and not just because he still holds close links with Monaco, a club he used to coach.

Back in 2013, Simon Jones of the Daily Mail reported that Wenger had bid £2.5 million to sign the then-18-year-old from Le Havre:

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Arsenal have offered £2.5 million for Le Havre left-back Benjamin Mendy.

However, the French Ligue 2 club want £5m for the 18-year-old and Arsenal face competition from Juventus, Sunderland, Cardiff and Lyon. 

Mendy has turned out for France at every age group up to his current role for the U19 squad, and was first linked with a move to the Gunners when he first signed a contract at Le Havre in 2011.

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As it happened, Mendy joined Marseille before moving to Monaco last summer. Since arriving in the principality, he has gone from strength to strength. His marauding style makes him a formidable force at both ends of the pitch.

Sooner rather than later, Arsenal will need a new left-back. Kieran Gibbs appears to be on the way out, while Nacho Monreal isn’t getting any younger.

Prising Mendy away from Monaco just a few months into a five-year contract would doubtless have been difficult. However, his performances are only going to attract more interest as time goes on. Before long, he’ll have a long line of potential suitors. Wenger may wish he’d bitten the bullet and bid for him now before Europe’s giants arrive on the scene.

3. Riyad Mahrez

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Riyad Mahrez has already admitted that Arsenal were interested in signing him last summer. Speaking to Canal Football Club (h/t Sky Sports), the Leicester winger said:

"There was contact with Arsenal. But Leicester wanted to keep me, and I was pretty expensive. I did not want to create a conflict when the offer came in."

Simply put, if Mahrez was on Arsenal’s radar last year he probably still figures in Wenger’s plans. Arsenal did not sign another creative midfielder of his ilk, so presumably the door is still open to a bid for Mahrez.

It might not have been easy to convince a Leicester side facing a relegation battle to part with their most gifted player. However, the player would surely have been amenable to a move having learnt that Leicester’s success of 2016/17 was ultimately unsustainable.

Arsenal don’t need Mahrez, but that’s not to say he couldn’t have offered them something special that might have made the difference in the run-in.

2. Rick Karsdorp

If there was one area of the Arsenal squad that obviously required an upgrade, it was surely right-back. Although Hector Bellerin is an outstanding full-back, neither Carl Jenkinson nor Mathieu Debuchy seem to have the requisite quality to act as deputy.

Arsenal need someone who can provide cover and competition for Bellerin, and Feyenoord’s Rick Karsdorp would have been a great fit. Wenger admitted to Ziggo Sport (h/t Metro) that he knew of the player, but claimed he was not on the lookout for a defender this January:

"No, we are currently not looking for a defender. So your information is not quite right. 

"Do I know him? Yeah, he’s definitely a good player, but we are now focused on winning the next game."

Recently, Wenger has been forced to use centre-half Gabriel Paulista as Bellerin’s understudy. Signing the combative Karsdorp would have been a major upgrade on Wenger’s current options as a back-up right-back.

1. Bernardo

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If Arsenal really wanted to push the boat out in their hunt for a right-back this winter, they could have launched a bid for RB Leipzig’s Brazilian full-back Bernardo. 

The 21-year-old would be a natural complement to Bellerin, as he shares the Spaniard’s recovery pace and attacking instincts. Arsenal have recruited regularly from the Bundesliga in recent years, and Bernardo’s dazzlingly mature performances must surely have registered on the radar of their German scouting network.

Bernardo might also have proved to be a useful addition if it transpires there’s any truth in Phil Cadden of The Sun’s report that Leipzig coach Ralph Hasenhuttl is being considered as Wenger’s successor.