Good afternoon, TSFers. It’s been a quiet deadline day for Arsenal so far (and probably will continue to be). Mikel Arteta said that the club are exploring their options for cover now that Mikel Merino’s status is “hope he’s back before the end of the season” but I doubt the Gunners will be able to work out a move that makes sense in such a short period of time.
Apparently Newcastle have already told Arsenal “no” on Sandro Tonali, even though the Gunners didn’t actually ask. Isn’t transfer rumor reporting
fun? Ruben Neves is another name I’ve seen kicking around, but I have no idea what level / quality of player he is right now. He’s been playing in the Saudi league for two-and-a-half years.
If anything changes, we’ll keep y’all updated. So with that in mind, to today’s discussion topic.
Who is your favorite Arsenal January transfer and why?
Even though the Gunners have not been particularly active in the winter window lately, they’ve brought in a number of quality players through the years. Martin Ødegaard’s initial loan in came in January 2021.
To name (more than) a few: Leandro Trossard, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Nacho Monreal, Theo Walcott, Andrey Arshavin, Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Adebayor, Nicolas Anelka, Jose Antonio Reyes, Kanu, Lee Dixon, and Alan Smith.
And of course, who could forget Arsenal legends Cedric and Denis Suarez?! Both January additions.
But the all-time greatest Arsenal January signing has to be the man, the myth, the legend, the FA Cup winner:
Kim Källström
The joined the club with a back injury (fractured vertebrae) suffered playing beach soccer (he says it was a training session) in Abu Dhabi with his Spartak Moscow teammates, made four appearances, scored in a penalty shootout in the FA Cup semifinal, and left North London with more trophies in four months than Harry Kane won in his entire Tottenham Hotspur career.
