Journalist Charles Watts has claimed he has no doubt that conversations have taken place behind the scenes at Arsenal over the January transfer window – which may suggest the Gunners have a plan in place for the weeks ahead.
Arsenal find themselves in pole position in the Premier League after surprising almost everyone with their incredible start to the season.
Mikel Arteta’s side are five points clear of Manchester City in second, have only dropped five points in 14 games and boast the joint-tightest defence in the league.
However, come the transfer window, it looks like the other end of the pitch is the priority for the Gunners, due to the huge blow of Gabriel Jesus’ injury, with him integral to Arteta’s system considering he had started every league game prior to the World Cup.
Watts revealed on his YouTube channel that Arsenal’s board and management had recently been out in America where club owners Stan Kroenke and son Josh reside, with a meeting over transfer business certain to have taken place, hinting that the Gunners are preparing to do business in the coming weeks.
He said: “They went over to the States a couple of weeks ago, they spent time there, Edu was there as well, Tim Lewis was there. They’re all together, there would no doubt have been transfer planning involved in all those meetings they were having together.
“It would’ve been crazy not to have been, and hopefully, Arteta can really convince the Kroenkes to free up some money.”
TIF Thoughts on Watts’ comments…
Arsenal are in a position they could’ve only dreamed of at the start of the campaign and could well be about to embark on the best chance they’ve had to secure a Premier League title since their last triumph in 2004.
Although Arsenal’s team is strong, there are doubts over the quality in depth, with only 16 players seeing more than 100 minutes of league action, showing just how little Arteta breaks away from using his starting 11 players when available.
We think that this, paired with Jesus’ injury, means investment must come in January to bulk the squad up to allow them to be in the strongest position to hold off Manchester City with them set to fight in three competitions in the new year.
A move for Shakhtar ace Mykhaylo Mudryk is reported by The Athletic to be a priority deal, but the Gunners may need more if they are to cross the finishing line as champions.