Despite spending over £125m in the summer transfer window, it seems that Arsenal are going to have an extremely busy January transfer window.
Members of the squad need to be offloaded to prevent losing them on a free transfer or they are simply surplus to requirements.
The African Cup of Nations is set to begin during this period which means Arsenal will be incredibly light in the midfield and attacking positions which could damage the Gunners’ pursuit for European qualification ahead of next season.
So, here at the Arsenal Way we’re going to predict the likelihood of the outcomes for Arsenal next season. One that is 90% likely to happen, one that’s 50% and a 10% chance.
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90% – Top six finish
Arsenal has finished eighth in back-to-back seasons which should be considered as a real disappointment for such a major club.
Miss management and a poor squad, in general, have been the obvious contributors to this, however, this summer we have seen an overhaul surrounding incomings that will benefit the club.
It is still early into this season but there have been many improvements in comparison to last year which I believe will solidify a top-six spot for the Gunners.
Clean sheets have been a regularity for the club which was a rarity last season.
With Arsenal not playing in Europe, it gives the players more time to rest and prepare for Premier League fixtures which will only lead to better results.
The North London club didn’t have this luxury last season which is a major reason why they were unable to break into the top six.
However, with challengers such as West Ham and Leicester having to stretch their squads as they are playing in the Europa League I can only see Arsenal finishing ahead of them which will cement a place in the top six.
50% – Arsenal to make a January signing
Due to Arsenal’s poor handling of player contracts, it means that five players are set to leave on a free transfer at the end of this campaign due to their contracts expiring.
Edu is going to have his hands full in the January transfer window to offload these in order to avoid losing them on a free transfer.
If he succeeds in doing this it means he would have to bring replacements so the depth of the squad is not hindered.
I’m not entirely convinced that Arsenal will make a signing in January as clubs are usually reluctant to sell their best players halfway through a season.
And the Gunners must be able to get rid of some of the players on their books.
I think if Arsenal was to sign a player in January it would have to be for a bargain price or a short term deal where Arsenal were able to agree on a loan deal similarly to last season with Martin Odegaard which worked a treat.
10% – top-four finish
I think every Arsenal fans dream this season was for the club to be in the top-four positions come game week 38.
However, I am unfortunately here to crush those dreams as the likelihood of this happening is very low.
Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool seem to be on an island of their own at the moment with the other 16 clubs in the league looking a far distance away.
Arsenal will get close in terms of positions to the top four but I do think this is one step too far for Mikel Arteta.
The one silver lining for Arsenal in their pursuit of a dream Champions League place is that towards the end of the season, many clubs will start to burn out due to the number of fixtures played in Europe and domestically, whilst Arsenal will not be affected by this.
Meaning Arsenal could make a late push towards the Champions League places but that is certainly highly unlikely.