Arsenal FC: 7 Players Fans Would Love to See in the January Transfer Window

Arsenal have bought wisely this summer, if a little bit cautiously. Last-minute, big name signings are hard to pull off, and so are typically sparse. Some of the deals they have made are typical Arsene Wenger signings—players not in the public eye, perceived to be of minimal talent but possessing a lot of untested potential for improvement. The Wenger Signing (if use of such an epithet is permitted), at least in recent years, seems to an outsider football expert as quite a gamble.

Arsenal have signed eight players and moved on Cesc Fabregas, their linchpin,  Samir Nasri,  a good creative player and inept and out-of form striker, Nicklas Bentdner. In response, they have signed apparently highly lauded, but in my opinion, underrated Lille man Gervinho, and English right-back Carl Jenkinson, who is considered highly, and I repeat, highly suspect. Though he has shown flashes of decent play, generally combing well with his flank partner, Jenkinson's final ball is poor. Next came Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, another talented youngster who is touted as the next Theo Walcott. What is comical is the fact that Arsenal already have Theo Walcott.

These were the signings up to the injury crisis and the 8-2 thrashing of Arsenal at Old Trafford, which forced Wenger's hand. Starved of world class talent to sign (at least within his price range), he returned to his cut-price deals, signing Per Mertesacker, a player fans have been clamouring for since 2008. Wenger also signed Andre Santos, a left-back from Fenerbahce whose defensive ability seems to be highly suspect and two creative midfielders in Yossi Benayoun and Mikel Arteta—one of whom is a bench player at Chelsea and the other seems to have faded after being a great player at a relatively small club.

It is easy to see that Wenger needs a big name to quell the lessening numbers of dissenters among the Emirates faithful. 

Eden Hazard

Hazard is the hottest prospect in Europe right now. He has been identified as the main reason Lille won the Ligue 1 during the 2010-11(of course, this is greatly underestimating the impact Moussa Sow, Ligue 1's top scorer, had on their season). Like any great dribbler, he has a brilliant YouTube showreel, with videos of him scoring a great goal, dribbling past hapless defenders, or making a through pass which is as eye catching as a pass can be in the world of powerful free-kicks and great goals.

He is a creative playmaker in the Samir Nasri mould. He is meant to play the playmaker role on the wing as he has done with Lille in their victorious league season. He would do well to slot in alongside Gervinho in the front line and will tuck into a slightly withdrawn position behind the main striker as a playmaker. 

Kaka

Kaka, or Ricardo Izecson Dos Santos Leite, is a trequartista who is a great dribbler and flair player who was Brazil's best player in 2010. He was the world's best in 2007, when he won the Champions League with Milan. He is now being kept out of the Madrid side by his young German counterpart, Mesut Oezil, and it is likely that a loan move to a top club is on the cards. He would be as proven, and as technically adept a replacement for Arsenal playmaker Cesc Fabregas as is possible to get at short notice for Arsene Wenger.

Yann M'Vila

There is still,I feel, an incredulous suggestion that Alex Song is not a really good player and needs to be replaced. I believe that he is a quality defensive midfielder and is adept at playing the holding role with his tactical discipline and the Box-to Box qualities of an engine room midfielder. However, M'Vila has great skill and leadership for such a young player and is a great player in the Vieira and (haha) Diaby mould.

Carlos Tevez

I'll admit that Carlos Tevez is a bit of a stretch, but he is an astonishing payer. He comes from the Diego Maradona tradition of Argentine footballers. He is a creative forward in the Lionel Messi mould, in that he has the responsibility both to score and to create. He did that extremely well for Manchester City in the 2010-11 season, where he was the talisman of a side full of big name signings who had not gelled. In the Arsenal side, he can play as a creative player behind Robin Van Persie, who seems more and more like an out-and-out striker every day, to give him the service he needs for his goal prolificacy.

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Hugo Lloris

Hugo Lloris is France's first choice goalkeeper who has played at the highest level of football. He has played both in the Champions League for Lyon and at the international level for France. He is possibly the likeliest buy for Arsenal in the list of top goalkeepers. Hugo Lloris has good anticipation and great reflexes and makes for a great buy as back up/competition to Arsenal youngster Wojchech Sczesny, the young Pole who has been thrown into the deep end.

Adil Rami

Another unheralded star of the 2010-11 Lille side who was surprisingly on loan for half the season and eventually left the French Champions for a depleted Valencia side stripped of its players. He is athletic, fast, has free-kick ability and would be a great center-back signing for Arsenal if the slightly suspect Per Mertesacker has a stinker of a season. 

Gonzalo Higuain

Gonzalo Higuain seems to have been overlooked of late in Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid setup, being relegated to a bench role in favour of the French forward Karim Benzema, who has long been rumoured to be an Arsenal target. Higuain is a talented poacher, with excellent technique and great movement to play as a lone forward or as the more advanced forward in a 4-4-2.