With days to go before the January transfer window, managers are all doing their homework. Who to bring in and who to let go? They will be doing their sums for the good bargains, the huge investments, the long-term and short-term solutions needed for their respective teams.

So, what is in the shopping windows for Arsene Wenger and the Gunners? There is a long list of players linked with Arsenal. Check it out:

Tresor Mputu (TP Mazembe) striker; Adriano (Inter Milan) striker; Nikolay Dimitrov (Levski) striker;  Luka Modric (Dinamo Zagreb) striker; Miguel Veloso (Sporting Lisbon) midfielder; Jussi Jaaskelainen (Bolton) goalkeeper;  Samir Nasri (Marseille) striker; Karim Benzema (Lyon) striker;  John Bostock (Crystal Palace) midfielder; Daniel Parejo (Real Madrid) midfielder; Micah Richards (Manchester City) defender; Ronaldino (Barcelona) striker; Sébastien Squillaci (Lyon) defender.

'Big names like Adriano and Ronaldino are unlikely to join us as they come with hefty price tags and may not perform up to expectations'


Wenger has said that there is no room in attack and midfield for any more players. Why, then, are there so much speculations for strikers and midfielders? The answer is always that scoring a goal is never as boring as defending a goal.

Mputu heads the list of hopefuls as he is considered to be the next Samual Eto’o. At a price of £500,000, Wenger will be tempted to gamble just as he did with Kolo Toure a few years ago. The next youngster we can consider is Dimitrov; the 20-year-old is highly rated following his appearance in the Bulgarian Under-21 team. Wenger has also invited him for training sessions with the Arsenal team.

Big names like Adriano and Ronaldino are unlikely to join us as they come with hefty price tags and may not perform up to expectations. In particular, Adriano has been seriously off-form these few months. Ronaldino will probably come with a scary price tag and even scarier baggage problems. Although always smiling on the field, there have been many rumours of his big ego in the dressing room.

A signing that is absolutely necessary in January is a central defender, as we will lose Toure to the African Cup for anything up to three weeks. Although Gilberto Silva can play there and we have Philippe Senderos as cover, the lack of an experienced defender may leak goals unnecessarily. Wenger may choose to recall Johan Djourou (who has improved tremendously) or dive into the market. Richards come to mind although he will be cheap. But he might help to  deflect some negative comments on the development of English lads by Wenger.

Do we need another goalkeeper? That will really depend on whether loudmouth Jens Lehmann is staying or going in January. As Blondie continues to shine as the new No.1, Lehmann will be more hard-pressed to play regular football in order to line up for Germany in Euro 2008. Jaaskelainen would be a reliable No.2 until Lukasz Fabianski matures enough to take over. But would Bolton's No. 1 be content to be a cover to Almunia? 

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