Arsenal have been linked with three players ahead of the January transfer window, with Arsene Wenger told to fork out a whopping £156m to bring them all to the Emirates Stadium.
In defence, Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk has been named as a potential option. With Per Mertesacker retiring in the summer, Laurent Koscielny suffering from a chronic injury and Shkodran Mustafi struggling to command a starting place, Arsenal might consider a move for the £60m Dutch international.
In midfield, Sevilla’s Steven N’Zonzi has long been linked with the Gunners. The likes of Francis Coquelin and Mohamed Elneny are subsidiary to the first-team while Jack Wilshere remains an injury worry, meaning Wenger is left with little choice other than the inconsistent Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey.
N’Zonzi is combative off the ball but composed on it. He was one of La Liga’s best midfielders last season, and would be available for £36m in January.
His attitude could yet be an issue, given he’s handed in a transfer request at three of his clubs, but Arsenal are likely to bolster the midfielder either next month or next summer and N’Zonzi wouldn’t break the bank.
In attack, Alexis Sanchez is expected to leave, taking away a lot of goals from the Arsenal side. Olympique Lyonnais’ Nabil Fekir has been tipped to replace the Chilean, having scored and created 81 goals in 135 games for the Ligue 1 side.
He will set Arsenal back £60m, however, potentially taking the Londoners’ winter spending to over £150m. Adding the aforementioned trio of players would see Wenger replacing players he’s sold with superior acquisitions.
It’s unknown if the club would sanction should a spend, however, unless a lot of players were moved on as a result. It would be very un-Wenger-like for him to green-light a mid-season overhaul.
Stats from Transfermarkt.
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