The transfer window has concluded in disappointing fashion for Arsenal and manager Mikel Arteta, who did not get a single outfield signing through the door and failed in their pursuit of a much-needed striker.
Arsenal inactive in January as Mikel Arteta shares disappointment
Ahead of their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Newcastle United tonight, Arteta spoke of how the club were not happy over their lack of business.
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This would be a massive blow for Eddie Howe.
The Spaniard, despite links to an array of high-profile centre-forwards, couldn’t get a new frontman to ease the pressure on Kai Havertz. Arsenal made a late bid for Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins, and were tipped to target the likes of Juventus star Dušan Vlahović, RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, Tottenham loanee Mathys Tel, Sporting Lisbon sensation Viktor Gyokeres and Wolves’ Matheus Cunha throughout the winter window.
Arteta says Arsenal are disappointed to not have got a single squad upgrade through the door before Monday’s deadline, but also says that they were disciplined enough not to panic buy either.
|
Arsenal’s next five Premier League games |
Date |
|---|---|
|
Leicester City (away) |
February 15th |
|
West Ham (home) |
February 22nd |
|
Nottingham Forest (away) |
February 26th |
|
Man United (away) |
March 9th |
|
Chelsea (home) |
March 16th |
“We had a clear intention, which is always there is a window open to explore opportunities to improve our squad with players that can impact it,” said Arteta on Arsenal’s January window.
“We haven’t achieved it so we are disappointed in that sense but as well we are very aware that we only want to bring in certain kinds of players and we have to be very disciplined with that as well, and I think that we were.”
It was also an uneventful window in terms of exits, despite a few squad members attracting interest. Left-back Kieran Tierney was attracting serious interest from Celtic, but he’ll have to wait until summer to park his move back to Parkhead.
Meanwhile, midfielder Jorginho has also been subject to serious interest from Brazilian sides, with his contract expiring at the end of this season.
Jorginho in pre-summer talks to join Flamengo from Arsenal with deal close
Flamengo appear to be leading the pack to sign him on a pre-contract, and are in negotiations to do so right now.
That is according to GOAL Brasil, who state that an authorised intermediary of Jorginho is in talks with Flamengo on the player’s behalf. The outlet reports that Flamengo want to seal a pre-contract agreement with Jorginho “in the coming days”, and they’re convinced that they’re close to an agreement with the Italy international.
The Brazilian transfer window is actually still open, and will be until February 28th, but Flamengo concede that a deal for Jorginho is unlikely to happen until the summer.
The 33-year-old has been a useful utility player for Arteta this season, so Arsenal’s manager won’t be keen on losing him midway through the campaign.
“I know him a lot, so for me it is nice to play with him he knows me well,” said Kai Havertz last season. “It makes life easy for me, he is a world-class player.”
