Arsenal analysis: Will the Gunners regret their lack of January transfer activity after injury blow to Gabriel Martinelli?
Arsenal were played off the park by Newcastle United on Wednesday night, as the Gunners crashed out of the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
Mikel Arteta’s men had arguably gone to the Northeast with a near-impossible task, as the Magpies were already 2-0 up on aggregate prior to kick-off.
Whilst many Arsenal supporters were left frustrated by their side’s subpar performance, most of the anger was directed at the Gunners’ transfer activity - or lack thereof.
Transfer News Blitz Content Editor Edward Moss has taken a deep dive into the current unrest at the Emirates Stadium.
Gabriel Martinelli injury blow
On the cusp of halftime at St. James’ Park, Arsenal were dealt yet another huge injury blow when Gabriel Martinelli was forced off the pitch with a hamstring injury.
In his post-match press conference, Arteta confirmed the Brazilian had “felt something” in his hamstring and “wasn’t comfortable to carry on.”
The full extent of the 23-year-old’s injury is still unknown, however, Martinelli could now miss Arsenal’s upcoming training camp in Dubai.
The Brazil international now joins a host of his attacking teammates on the sideline, with Bukayo Saka expected to be missing until mid-March and Gabriel Jesus out for the rest of the year with an ACL injury.
Defenders Benjamin White and Takehiro Tomiyasu make up the rest of the Gunners’ absentees.
Thinning squad
With a mounting injury list, Arsenal are at their barebones.
Kai Havertz, Leandro Trossard and Raheem Sterling are the only fit senior forward players available to Arteta - although 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri has often been utilised on the right flank too.
Even so, just four attacking options are nowhere near enough to mount a sustained Premier League title charge.
With games coming thick and fast both domestically and in the Champions League, a lot is going to be asked of those four players - whether they can maintain their fitness and a good standard of performance is not known.
Lack of January transfer activity
It was not hard to see that Arsenal were in dire need of reinforcements in January, however, the Gunners hierarchy largely remained quiet throughout the transfer window.
It was reported that the North Londoners were already working on a deal to sign Martín Zubimendi for next summer, but there was no sign of any immediate recruits.
A late bid of £40million was made for Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, but that came nowhere near the Villans’ valuation for the England international.
According to The Athletic, the 29-year-old was keen on a move to the Emirates Stadium, and Villa were open to discussing a deal for £60million.
Not all of the Arsenal higher-ups were convinced Watkins was worth the money though, given the fact that he would not be a long term fixture in Arteta’s team, given his age.
The Englishman’s talent is undoubted, and many Arsenal supporters see Watkins as a huge missed opportunity that would have immediately improved the starting lineup - citing similar past failed approaches for the likes of Luis Suarez and Jamie Vardy.
The Gunners also missed out on Bayern Munich’s Mathys Tel, who instead joined arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur, and were also rebuffed by RB Leipzig for Benjamin Šeško.
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Rivals strengthening
Frustratingly for the Arsenal faithful, many of the teams around the Gunners added to their ranks during the winter transfer market.
Manchester City, in particular, strengthened their squad after a dismal start to the season, bringing in Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt and Nico González from Porto, as well as Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Juma Bah for a combined £182million.
Fellow Premier League high-flyers Aston Villa also signed some extra reinforcements, notably bringing in Marcus Rashford on loan from Manchester United.
Whilst these new additions may take some time to get up to speed, they will undoubtedly provide a massive boost down the line - one that Arteta & Co. will not be getting.
Is there a need to panic?
Whilst this could potentially be an unpopular opinion among Arsenal supporters - have the Gunners done the right thing?
Arsenal have got a lot more transfers right than they have wrong in recent years, with Fàbio Vieira and Marquinhos the only two that come to mind as real disappointments from the past three years.
Yes, the club needed to bring in a centre-forward this January, but why waste money on the wrong person?
That’s not to say there were no opportunities for a temporary fix, take for example, Tel, Rashford and Evan Ferguson.
As for a big, marquee signing though, maybe waiting until the summer was the correct thing to do in the long term.
Looking ahead
As previously mentioned, Arsenal are going to be heavily reliant on the likes of Havertz, Trossard and Nwaneri over the next few months, so will need to manage the trio's fitness smartly.
The Gunners can take some solace in the fact that the squad will get a break, with Arteta’s men next in action on February 15 against Leicester City.
As the club aims to reach the latter stages of the Champions League and keep up with Premier League leaders Liverpool, a decent rest is just what the doctor ordered.
Follow all the latest January window rumours and deals with Transfer News Blitz, and follow us on BlueSky as we continue to tell it like it is when it comes to transfer talk.
