Shock £21m Rashford deal in perfect ten-move January for Arteta as Bellingham in, Jesus out

Arsenal could do with a January shot in the arm as they look to keep pace with Liverpool in the Premier League and win a trophy for the first time since Mikel Arteta’s first season in charge.

They’ve been in stronger positions in the last two winter windows, when their inertia cost them in the second half of those seasons, and would do well not to make the same mistake.

We’ve come up with 10 player moves – five exits and five arrivals – which we reckon is the best Arteta can hope for this month, so sorry Gooners, no Alexander Isak.

We’ve already done similar for Manchester United, Manchester City and Graham Potter’s West Ham, if you’re interested.

Oleksandr Zinchenko out

He’s been arguably the biggest victim in Arteta’s move away from technical football to bullying opposition teams into submission. If you were to rank Arsenal players by on-the-ball quality, Zinchenko would comfortably make the first XI and probably be vying for a medal, and yet he’s started just eight Premier League games in the last year.

That’s partly down to injury but mainly because Arteta wants as many bruisers on the pitch as possible, with What Use Is He On Set Pieces? apparently the first and last question the Gunners boss asks himself when selecting his team.

There are plenty of Premier League teams that would take Zinchenko at left-back and possibly even more who would enjoy him dictating play at the heart of their midfield, as he’s done with aplomb for Ukraine on a regular basis.

Thomas Partey out

We can’t believe he’s still playing for Arsenal, for multiple reasons. One being we thought they had decided two years ago that he wasn’t good enough as they pursued Moises Caicedo. Another being [REDACTED].

Partey’s played quite a bit at right-back and been fine, while the Arsenal fans’ reaction to watching him in midfield has been baffling. It’s like they’re unaware of how good a defensive midfielder can be, rallying around him after mediocre performances as though they’re his collective defence attorneys.

Anyway, he’s out of contract in the summer and should be sent packing to Saudi Arabia now while they can still receive a modest fee.

Jorginho out

His exit would depend on one or both of our predicted signings arriving and Arteta may prefer Jorginho to see out his contract – which expires at the end of the campaign – given what are purported to be excellent leadership skills and contributions in the dressing room aside from the limited role he currently plays for them on the pitch, which would dwindle further with those reinforcements.

But as is the case with Partey, if they can get a small fee for him while getting him off the wage bill in January, it will give them a hand in the PSR stakes.

Gabriel Jesus out

A return to form which has seen Jesus score six goals having started five of Arsenal’s last six games is obviously Good News, but perhaps not in the most obvious way. Maybe this isn’t proof that he can be the answer to the Gunners’ goalscoring woes and has instead provided a timely value boost ahead of his sale in January.

At 27 he should be in his prime years, he’s earned 64 caps for Brazil and has got 121 goals and 62 assists since moving to England, contributing to a goal every 1.8 games. Those sound like reasons for Arsenal to keep a very good footballer, but despite his recent upturn there remains a feeling that it’s gone a bit stale and significant doubt as to whether he’s worth the £265,000-a-week they’re paying him. Getting rid would grant wage bill manoeuvrability, which sounds horribly clinical and is and we hate ourselves.

Jesus is one of few assets that Arsenal would a) be willing to listen to offers for, and b) bring in a significant whack to make a difference to them as they dip into the market themselves.

If Atletico Madrid and/or Juventus fail to make a £40m offer then consider this our retirement from The Obvious Transfers panel.

Kiernan Tierney out

It was lovely to see him back in action against Crystal Palace but he needs to play football and that’s not going to happen at Arsenal. His contract expires in the summer. Rip it up and let him go.

Marcus Rashford in

We were genuinely ‘shocked’ by Arsenal’s supposed ‘phone call’ to Manchester United on Friday, but we quickly flop-flopped towards thinking it would actually be more of a surprise if the Gunners didn’t try their luck.

No matter where you are on the inconsistent to utter tripe opinion scale, there’s obvious room for improvement in Arteta’s forward line. There’s no player you would hang your hat on other than the injured Bukayo Saka, and Rashford – at least initially as he bids to prove it was Manchester United and not him that was The Problem – surely comes straight into the starting line-up on the left wing.

Whether he stays there depends entirely on his ability to return to his 2022/2023 season levels, or something approaching them, because Rashford’s peak is far beyond his rivals in that position, but his trough is about as low as a footballer can get.

A £21m permanent bid is very smart in the knowledge that United are only likely to receive loan offers they would have to subsidise besides. It will be tempting.

READ MORE: Yoro clashes with Ronaldo but different Man Utd teammate gives Rashford dreadful ‘advice’

Martin Zubimendi in

It always seemed a bit odd that Arsenal were trying so hard to sign Zubimendi’s Real Sociedad midfield partner Mikel Merino in the summer rather than Zubimendi himself, and that’s felt ever stranger as the season’s gone on.

Critics of the Gunners’ transfer strategy will claim that Merino is essentially Declan Rice but quite a bit worse at football, while what they’re really missing is a younger and more dynamic version of Jorginho, as they look a whole lot better with the Italian in the team, up to the point when they lose the ball in transition and are entirely f***ed by his presence.

Zubimendi has now apparently decided that he does actually quite fancy England having turned Liverpool down in the summer, possibly because Real Sociedad don’t currently look very likely to qualify for European football next season.

Jobe Bellingham in

There’s an understandable desire for Jobe to be His Own Man while brother Jude makes headlines on a daily basis, shining for the biggest club in the world having been the best player in La Liga in his debut season, helping England to the Euros final with absurd last-minute goals and finishing third in the Ballon d’Or rankings. It’s an impossible act to follow so closely behind.

The problem for Jobe as he seeks to avoid comparisons is the technical ability, composure and physicality which makes him a ringer for Jude even before you consider their looks and matching trajectories.

Jobe currently tends to operate in a deep-lying role but is expected to develop into more of a box-to-box player, before an inevitable genetically-enforced move into the No.10 role. The similarities make Jobe a hugely enticing prospect, and while Manchester United will be desperate not to miss out on another Bellingham having ballsed up a move for the first, Arsenal are surely a far bigger draw for a footballer who we assume has his head as screwed on as his sibling.

Reports suggest the horse may already have bolted, with Bellingham not wanting to leave Sunderland in the lurch in their push for promotion. But we would suggest an Arteta tickle, the promise of Champions League football and a possible battle with his big bro at the Bernabeu may be enough to change the teenager’s mind.

Jonathan David in

We suspect Lille are very open to offers given David’s contract expires in the summer and having been linked with the 24-year-old since time immemorial, it makes sense for Arsenal to throw what would only need to be a few quid at the Ligue 1 side to get a genuine goalscorer – who’s scored nearly a goal every two games for Lille – through the door now in their bid to win something this season.

Joan Garcia in

Arsenal launched a couple of unsuccessful bids for the Espanyol goalkeeper in late August after Aaron Ramsdale’s summer switch to Southampton but couldn’t get the deal done and instead plumped for Neto on loan from Bournemouth.

Atalanta’s Marco Carnesecchi and Parma’s Zio Suzuki are also said to be on the Gunners radar but goalkeeper coach Inaki Cana is pushing for Garcia, believing him to be the heir to David Raya’s throne while pushing him for a starting spot.

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