While Arsenal’s pursuit of the Premier League is currently rather uncertain, one thing is for certain; the Gunners must strengthen their squad this January.
If Bukayo Saka’s hamstring injury wasn’t enough, then more dropped points against Brighton and Ethan Nwaneri’s muscular problem that will keep him out for ‘a few weeks’ should be.
That said, supporters will have to remain patient as the winter window is a notoriously difficult one to do business in.
Clubs don’t want to lose their star players due to the limited amount of time they have to replace them and as a result, it’s likely you have to pay way over the odds if you want your man and they aren’t available.
Despite that, not bringing in any new players would be inexcusable given Arsenal are six points behind league leaders Liverpool having played one more game.
Arsenal’s January transfer window plans
We are now a week into the January window and haven’t seen much activity on Arsenal’s end.
A potential move for Wolves attacker Matheus Cunha has been touted but the latest on that is the Brazilian could be set to put pen to paper on a new deal at Molineux.
Arsenal may have to get creative therefore and reports suggest they have had a bid rejected for Botafogo striker Igor Jesus.
So, who else have they been linked with? Well, they could prise away Jude Bellingham’s brother, Jobe Bellingham.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
That’s according to Football Transfers who report this week that ‘Arsenal have set their sights’ on the 19-year-old
The club’s scouts are monitoring his progress closely and it’s thought that Bellingham is now a ‘top priority for manager Mikel Arteta’.
According to talkSPORT, the midfielder is expected to cost around £20m. Any move could well see a repeat of a deal to bring Aaron Ramsey to the Emirates Stadium back in 2008.
How Jobe Bellingham compares to Aaron Ramsey
In the summer of 2008, a young Welshman was capturing the imagination of plenty in English football.
Ramsey was making waves with Cardiff City in the Championship and it wasn’t long before Manchester United came calling. Infamously they even announced they had agreed a deal on their official club website.
Luckily for those of an Arsenal persuasion, he rejected the Red Devils and ended up signing for the Gunners in a £5m deal.
262 Premier League appearances and two FA Cup final goals later and the midfielder had cemented himself as a firm fan favourite at the Emirates. It’s just a shame the way he left.
Well, as a young star also shining in England’s second tier, a deal to bring Bellingham to north London would certainly evoke memories of Ramsey’s arrival.
They’re not too dissimilar either with the Sunderland ace not too far behind when it comes to goal and assist rate in the EFL during the embryonic stages of his career to date.
Ramsey joined Arsenal as an exciting attacking midfielder and Bellingham is certainly similar in that regard. Described as a “game-breaking midfielder” by data analyst Ben Mattinson, he highlights the teenager’s ‘powerful ball carrying’ and notes that he ‘loves to make runs into the box off the ball and arrive to finish cutbacks.’
That trait was something the Welshman certainly perfected during his time in red and white, notoriously scoring as many as 16 goals in the 2013/14 campaign when Arsenal won the FA Cup.
Bellingham has four league goals and three assists this term so he’s not quite in that ballpark yet but his ability to create magic in the final third is not going unnoticed.
A further look at the stats, however, tells us why we should all be excited about the Englishman’s potential.
|
Bellingham vs Championship midfielders |
|
|---|---|
|
Metric |
Percentile ranking in 2nd tier |
|
Goals |
86% |
|
Assists |
80% |
|
Progressive carries |
52% |
|
Progressive passes |
61% |
|
Key passes |
75% |
|
Ball recoveries |
90% |
|
Aerial duels won |
96% |
|
Stats via FBRef. (The bigger the % the better) |
|
Compared to positionally similar players in the Championship this term, he ranks among the top 9% of players for combined goals and assists while sitting in the best 10% for ball recoveries, rubber-stamping the Ramsey-like qualities at his disposal.
Indeed, the Wales international wasn’t just competent in attacking areas but like Bellingham, he worked hard to win the ball back and made sure he did his job from a defensive standpoint.
The Sunderland sensation is far from the finished article but as project signings go, you’d find few better than the talented teen.
Related
Fabrizio Romano: Arsenal chasing Martinelli upgrade who’s a £29m “threat”
The exciting winger would add some much-needed dynamism to Arsenal.
