Arsenal want ‘consistent’ Premier League star in January with Gunners ‘not as strong as last year’ | OneFootball

Brentford striker Kevin Schade has emerged as a ‘name to monitor’ as Arsenal look to improve their attack in the January transfer market, according to reports.

The Gunners spent much of the summer transfer window looking to bring in a marquee attacking signing but Mikel Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta couldn’t find the right signing at the right price.

Christos Tzolis came in to replace Leandro Trossard but Arsenal also lost Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus towards the end of the market.

Arsenal made moves to sign Morgan Rogers, Vinicius Junior and Julian Alvarez and they are expected to continue their search for a big-name signing over the next couple of transfer windows.

Jeremie Aliadiere recently claimed that the current Arsenal squad is “not as strong as last year” despite the signings of Bruno Guimaraes and Ezri Konsa.

Aliadiere told Live Football Tickets: “It’s a tough one because, at the beginning, I thought yes, we are stronger. I think the arrival of Konsa and Guimarães especially makes us a bit stronger in midfield.

“But then obviously losing Gabriel Jesus, Martinelli and Trossard, and only getting Tzolis up front, I kind of feel that going forward we’re not as strong as last year because Martinelli and Trossard were a big part of our success last season.

“Tzolis has obviously started really well and is doing great, but he’s got to last the full season. When he’s not starting, like we saw last night, Eze is playing on the left wing. Eze can do a good job there, but I guess it’s probably not his best position. I think he’s better centrally, just behind the striker.

“As a whole, though, I think we are stronger, also because of the experience and what we achieved last year. Keeping the strong players and the top players in the team makes us stronger anyway because now they’ve got more experience and they know how to win.

“But I think that left-hand side in attack is maybe not as strong as last year because, like I said, losing Trossard and Martinelli — they were instrumental for us last season.”

One to watch: Kevin Schade to Arsenal?

And now Football.London journalist Tom Canton has revealed that Schade’s name is one to monitor as Arsenal look to bring in an attacking option.

Explaining why some clubs opt for signings out of their own league in January, Canton wrote: ‘Players don’t get any pre-season to adjust, have to integrate far more quickly, and hope for an immediate impact. This often leads clubs to look at signing players from within the league, with options up top both slim and expensive.

‘Eli Junior Kroupi and Kevin Schade are both names to monitor, with the latter starting the season excellently for Brentford. But there could be further names which emerge throughout the season.’

Schade has been called up to the Germany squad for their upcoming internationals and Brentford boss Keith Andrews has been impressed by the striker.

Andrews said: “It’s another amazing story for the club to have two players named in the Germany squad.

“One thing you always get with Kev is a consistency with his work ethic. Kev has been working really hard with the coaches to improve certain aspects of his game, and you’ve seen that in the early parts of the season with how well he’s been performing.

“He’s got a lot of belief and confidence at the moment, as you’re seeing in his performances, and we’ve always had a lot of belief and confidence in him.

“He’s in a really good place at the moment, and hopefully we can keep him there.”