Led by Mikel Arteta, Arsenal appear to have taken one step forward and two steps back this season as the club has been through a difficult period since the start of the year. In the summer of 2021, no team in the Premier League has invested more than the Gunners, with six first-team players joining: Ben White, Lokunga, Martin Odega, Fuan Jianyang, Ramsdahl and Tavares. Despite spending a lot of money on transfers this summer, Arsenal are still in desperate need of reinforcements six months later as they lack midfielders, especially centre-forwards. Over the past few months, with Aubameyang's slump and his stripping as captain seems unlikely to play for the club again, a centre forward has become the team's top draw-in task. There are five stars here who may arrive before the January window closes.
Calvert Lewin (Everton)
Everton had a bad time under Rafa Benitez, which eventually led to the Spaniard's dismissal, and their star players will soon seek a transfer if their current downward trend continues. Calvert Lewin's absence is one of the main reasons for Everton's poor form, as his injuries have left them missing a fulcrum and there are no other quality strikers in the squad. He returned to the squad during the game against Brighton but missed a penalty and in the coming weeks he will try to improve his game fitness, something Arsenal needed to prove when they started thinking about a transfer. Everton will also demand high transfer fees, especially in the middle of the season.
Alexander Isaac (Real Sociedad)
While Alexander Isaac may not be as widely regarded as Mbappe or Haaland, the young Swede remains one of the most exciting rising stars in European football. The Real Sociedad striker, who quickly turned his career around in Spain after a tough top-flight start at Borussia Dortmund, has now attracted the interest of some of Europe's biggest clubs. Arsenal will not buy Haaland or Mbappe in the market because they are not a good enough team at the moment, however, they may try it on Isaac, albeit expensive.
Vlahović (Florence)
Arsenal's ideal signing in the transfer window is Fiorentina striker Vlahovic. While Haaland dominated most of the headlines as Europe's finest young striker, Vlahović's performance in Italy has been impressive. He scored 21 Serie A goals last season and an impressive 17 goals in 21 league games this season. Many big clubs want Vlahovic and Arsenal need to offer an incredible offer to the player and his agent to close the deal. For now, Vlahović himself seems to prefer a move to Juventus.
Ramsey (Juventus)
While this may not be the most popular acquisition among Arsenal fans, the club has been linked to Ramsey in january's transfer window. The Welshman wouldn't mean a big transfer fee either, but the Gunners need more players who can play in midfield. Ramsey is a good player who can still play at the highest level, and whether he will become a more stable midfielder than Arsenal's current players – namely Xhaka and Lokunga – remains to be discussed.
Guimaras (Lyon)
The most recent midfielder linked to Arsenal is Bruno Guimaras of Lyon. In the 2022 match against Paris Saint-Germain, he attracted everyone's attention with an outstanding performance, in this game he was the best player in Lyon on the field, and against Troyes and Saint-Etienne, he deepened the impression of him with his consecutive wonderful performances. Arsenal have been linked to his team-mate Oyar all summer, but now it appears they have shifted their focus. Guimaras' performance means Lyon could ask the Gunners to pay a large transfer fee for his signing.