Arsenal Transfers: 7 Potential January Signings for the Gunners

This summer, Arsenal were expected to have a great campaign in the coming 2011-12 EPL season.

However, the losses of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri and the continued failure of the Gunners to find a defense that can hold down the fort is crippling them one match at a time.

The money from Fabregas and Nasri's sales should have allowed for equivalent replacements to arrive, but the signings of Mikel Arteta and Per Mertesacker and the loan move for Yossi Benayoun have failed to impress, while Gervinho still has much to prove.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is one of the brightest additions despite unfortunately furthering the belief that youth is the way for the Gunners to continue to go.

Yes, they need signings for the future, but I cannot remember a time in the last 10 years or more when they have been more starved for experienced quality talent in the first team. If January is not a busy transfer window for the Gunners, then I do not know how they expect to find their way back to the Europa League, let alone the Champions League.

In many ways, their struggle reminds me of when my own supported club, Liverpool, was in the doldrums of the 2009-10 season and barely escaped with a Europa League spot before failing to qualify for Europe altogether in 2010-11.

Whatever the case is for the Gunners—whether it is time for Wenger to go and the club take another direction or if someone just needs to kick some sense into the board—it has never been a more frustrating time to be a Gunners supporter in the last several years.

The solution is plain and simple: Arsenal need better players, or they will likely to be the biggest disappointment of the season in the eyes of even non-fans.

David Beckham

Although a move for the former England star is highly unlikely, he could add an interesting dynamic to the Gunners, who are starved from poor service to the middle and attack at the moment.

Bleacher Report's Brandon Boyer spoke extensively on this possible subject in an article discussing what the midfielder could offer to Arsenal as a package.

However, his wage demands would most likely be outrageous for what he is still capable of, and that could cost Wenger signing some more unproven youths, so it probably would never happen.

Josip Ilicic

Josip Illcic joined Palermo at the start of last season and rose to prominence in the club's lineup alongside of midfielder Javier Pastore, now with Paris Saint-Germain.

The 23-year-old Slovenian midfielder scored eight goals and landed seven assists for the Sicilian club in 34 total appearances and was one of the key components to last season's campaign. He is yet to score or notch an assist this season but has looked up to it with his club, which sit fourth in the Serie A table.

With the Gunners looking for younger but experienced affordable signings, Ilicic has the chance of being a quality under-the-radar signing for the English side.

Eden Hazard

In all honesty, Arsene Wenger will probably never get the kind of money from the board he needs to finance a move for Eden Hazard.

With Real Madrid most likely set to be the highest bidder, the Gunners simply won't compete. It is not that they couldn't, it is just highly unlikely with their budgetary spending style.

He was a target for Wenger over the summer, but he now looks to be beyond the reach of the club—but I have been wrong before.

Tim Cahill

Rumors have surfaced at several different times about the possibility of Everton's other leading midfielder, Tim Cahill, making a move to Arsenal.

The Gunners already have signed Mikel Arteta from David Moyes, but Wenger could head back to Goodison Park for another raid in the winter.

Cahill is a versatile midfielder of a different variety than the Gunners currently posses, and he would be a much better option than Yossi Benayoun.

Jan Vertonghen

Ajax Amsterdam star Jan Vertonghen continues to be hotly linked with Arsenal. Arsene Wenger has to find a way to stop the bleeding at the back, starting with his center-backs.

Vertonghen's already-developing partnership with Thomas Vermaelen has been the key talking point for him being a likely defensive signing for the Gunners this winter.

Gary Cahill

Gary Cahill has been no secret target of Arsenal over the past summer and into the fall. The England defender is suffering at the bottom of the table with his current club, Bolton Wanderers, and might be out the door come winter transfer time, as Wanderers are in desperate need of capital to finance some new acquisitions in hopes of saving their season.

However, Arsene Wenger is yet to launch another bid to win over the Bolton board. It now looks like that could have been a pretty big mistake that they may try to atone for come January, as the budget signing of Per Mertesacker already looks a dismal bust.

Ibrahim Afellay

Before his move to Barcelona, Ibrahim Afellay was the subject of a major Arsenal bid in 2010. Since then, he has moved on to Blaugrana waters in Spain and enjoyed great success, although he has seen mainly substitute appearances, with a total of 50 appearances for Pep Guardiola split 27 to 23 for starts and subs.

He still managed to score seven goals and provide two assists last season despite not being a primary starter. This season, the acquisition of Cesc Fabregas from Arsenal, and the Dutch player's lengthy injury at the moment, could see him surplus come January or next summer. Wenger could snap him up for a cut price.