Five transfers for Arsenal’s perfect January window involving Erling Haaland and three exits | OneFootball

Arsenal have been near-faultless in the transfer market in recent years, using their deep pot of cash wisely while closing in on Premier League net spend leaders Manchester United.

Mikel Arteta’s side were left way behind Liverpool in the list of this summer’s biggest spenders in Europe, though they found value in their £255m spend to have much the better window than the Reds, whose signings are yet to hit the ground running.

The expertise of Andrea Berta, their immense pulling power and huge resources ensured they landed most of their priority targets ahead of this campaign, with Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Zubimendi, Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke, Cristhian Mosquera, Piero Hincapie, Christian Norgaard and Kepa Arrizabalaga signed.

Liverpool may have spent over £400m on summer signings, but there are still glaring holes in their side, while the Gunners have a stacked squad with multiple quality options in each position.

This has been laid bare at the start of this season; Arsenal have moved clear at the top of the Premier League, have a perfect record in the Champions League group stages and have advanced in the Carabao Cup. Liverpool, meanwhile, have slumped into a crisis as it looks increasingly likely that the Gunners will end their trophy drought by lifting at least one piece of silverware this season.

So, it should be pretty alarming for Liverpool, Man City and co. that Arsenal could get even better in January. These five deals would contribute to a perfect window for the Gunners…

Loan out Ethan Nwaneri

Most of Arsenal’s focus in the summer went on overhauling their attack. This is because, barring their brilliance from set-pieces, they were somewhat toothless in forward areas last season. But Arsenal’s summer business has negatively impacted 18-year-old Nwaneri, who has dropped in the pecking order following his extraordinary breakout season in 2024/25 and is yet to make a Premier League start this term.

Unless there’s another injury crisis at the Emirates, Nwaneri’s game time will continue to be very limited for the remainder of this season, and this has the potential to damage him in the long run.

Training with a squad of Arsenal’s calibre and working under Arteta is not a bad gig for a teenager coming through the ranks, but a player of Nwaneri’s talents needs to be doing more.

Given the options at Arteta’s disposal, Arsenal could certainly cope without Nwaneri for a few months at least, while he would benefit from broadening his horizons at another Premier League club or team in Europe before returning to his boyhood club as a better player. Club chiefs are reportedly aware of this, too…

Sell Gabriel Jesus

The Gunners finally fixed their No.9 problem in the summer by signing Gyokeres. He has his critics, but the flat-track bully has given the north London side a new dimension in attack, with his inevitable contribution of 15-20 goals – even if they are only against lowly opponents – giving them an edge in tight matches.

Gyokeres’ arrival does mean Arsenal’s striker department has changed significantly during Jesus’ absence due to injury, with the soon-to-be-fit forward finding himself third in the pecking order behind the summer signing and Kai Havertz.

Jesus enjoyed a rare purple patch before suffering his ACL injury last season, but these runs have been few and far between for the Brazil international at Arsenal as he has not lived up to expectations following his £45m move from Manchester City. He is now one of their expendable talents.

This January would be a good time to get Jesus off the wage bill via a potential return to Brazil, with his imminent return from injury not going to make a great deal of difference to Arsenal’s aspirations this season. They are already reportedly considering signing an up-and-coming striker as a possible replacement.

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Sell Gabriel Martinelli

Arsenal were heavily reliant on Bukayo Saka on the flanks last season as their other wingers, including stagnating Martinelli, massively underperformed.

Saka’s development into a world-class winger has exposed Martinelli, who has failed to kick on and has become increasingly frustrating to watch due to his limited goal contributions and inconsistency.

This has seen Martinelli fall from being an undisputed starter to a player at serious and justified risk of being sold for an upgrade in 2026.

Reports suggest Arsenal’s finances are tight, so Martinelli stands out as an obvious valuable asset to offload if they receive a suitable bid in January or beyond, following links to Bayern Munich and Saudi Pro League clubs in the summer.

And as for his replacement, Arsenal should look no further than…

Sign Antoine Semenyo

25-year-old Semenyo has had a major coming-out party for high-fliers Bournemouth at the start of this campaign, with the electric winger grabbing six goals and three assists in his 11 Premier League appearances this season.

Semenyo was unfortunate to miss out on a transfer in the summer, but a move to a Big Six club is an inevitability in 2026, and a deal could even be struck in January.

This is because David Ornstein has confirmed that he has a pretty reasonable £65m release clause in his Bournemouth contract, with this ripe to be activated in the winter.

Reports indicate that Liverpool are ahead of Manchester United in the race for Semenyo’s signature, but Arsenal should break their rivals’ hearts by snatching an ideal Mohamed Salah replacement.

Semenyo would be a natural fit as on Martinelli, who could be sold for a similar fee, as he has all of the natural attributes and final product necessary to reach another level once he seals a deserved move to a Big Six club.

Erling Haaland leaves Manchester City

Barring injuries, Haaland is the main prohibitive factor that stands in Arsenal’s way of winning the Premier League this season.

Haaland FC’s dominant 3-0 win against Liverpool before the international break cemented Pep Guardiola’s side as Arsenal’s main rivals for the Premier League title this season, but the Gunners will be particularly wary about the elite striker’s form.

More than any other season, Haaland has carried Man City this term as Guardiola has built around him; his 19 goals in 15 games do not tell the whole story, as he has taken his overall game to a new level and become a complete striker.

Haaland has reached such a level that it is rightly being suggested that he has outgrown rebuilding Man City and needs to shine alongside fellow world-class giants at FC Barcelona or Real Madrid.

Will this lead to a January transfer? No, of course not. But Arsenal winning the Premier League title would become even more of an inevitability if he were lured elsewhere.