Plenty of possibilities…but Arsenal need to seal deal for new frontman

The Athletic reports today that Arsenal have three main targets for the striker’s position in this January window…and that’s news to be welcomed.

This is an executive team that has shown itself capable of forming and then executing a coherent strategy in the transfer market and the three names mentioned – Alexander Isak, Dusan Vlahovic, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin – would seem to expound on that clarity of thinking.

The problem is, getting any of the aforementioned in during January will prove, at best, tricky and, in actuality, near-on impossible. After all, what incentive do any of those clubs have to hurry a sale?

As the Athletic points out, all of the clubs involved have targets to achieve this season and losing their first-choice striker would in no way help them achieve those goals. With but a week left in the transfer window, it would also leave precious little time for any of them to source a replacement.

In short, I hold out little hope that a deal can be done. I don’t doubt the intent and the willingness on Arsenal’s part to push for something, but the reality is that the summer is the most likely time the wheels can finally turn.

Anything we can do before than, even a loan, could be enormously beneficial, particularly given the apparent finality of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s exclusion from the playing squad. Any attempt to get through what remains of this season with just Alex Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah will make our task that much more difficult, if not ultimately fruitless, as the weekend’s tussle with Burnley demonstrated.

There were chances enough to win that game, for sure, but a lack of real cutting edge – among other factors – contributed to a disappointing stalemate that saw two valuable points slip through our fingers. Against a side as poor as Burnley, that can’t happen, not to a side that harbours European ambitions.

So the task is clear, the strategy is clear, and the targets are in place. The countdown is well and truly under way and the onus is on Arsenal to get the job done. The short-term future might just well hinge on the business we are able to do in this window, so let’s hope nothing is left on the table in our efforts to get a deal over the line.