In an attempt to bring at least one January transfer target to Emirates Stadium, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has several targets on his radar. Earlier this week, Everton’s Amadou Onana gained attention after Dominic Solanke, Jeremie Frimpong, and a few more players were connected to a winter transfer to the Gunners.
Joshua Zirkzee, a former Bayern Munich player who plays for Bologna. Is the most recent player that Arsenal is reportedly interested in. He has scored eight goals in 22 games this season. The Gunners desperately need a new defender to help with their injury problems. But many would prefer to see a striker signed soon.
The two obvious choices available to Arteta are Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus; however, the latter is once again in sideline due to a knee injury. Because of this, The Telegraph reports that Arsenal is considering Zirkzee as a possibility. But closing any significant deals in January seems to be difficult.
The north Londoners have already announced their first completed deal of the winter window, allaying fears that no business will be done. Having said that, football.london has examined the most recent transfer rumors involving Arsenal.
Analysis of Zirkzee to Arsenal
Joshua Zirkzee has been connected to several Premier League teams over the years. In 2017, Liverpool, Everton, Manchester, and Arsenal were all interested in signing him. The Netherlands international finally decided to sign with Bayern, but things did not quite work out as planned for his dream transfer to Germany.
The 22-year-old played in just 12 games over three years with the senior team. And although he score four goals during that time, he never gets a sustained opportunity. Zirkzee had seemed to be struggling since moving to Serie A. But this season he found new and impressive ways to excel.
football.london says: “The Gunners are in need of signing a new forward, but Zirkzee may not be the answer. A proven centre-forward is requiring at Emirates Stadium and although Zirkzee’s hot streak has rightly caught their attention, there is no guarantee he continues this form.
“Signing him in the winter window is also a significant challenge. Both from the perspective of Arsenal and Bologna. With FFP rules and regulations making it very difficult to make a marquee signing. A fee in the region of £50million is said to be the asking price and it’s difficult to see how the Gunners can legally pull that together without making any sales.
“A set release clause in his contract would have made things far easier but Bologna sporting director Marco Di Vaio has already confirmed that the clause is only valid for Bayern.”
Marquinhos returns
After making just seven appearances during his Ligue 1 loan at Nantes, Marquinhos has returned to Arsenal. The 20-year-old moved from Sao Paulo to the Gunners in the summer of 2022. But he has had a difficult time adjusting to life in England.
He stayed in the nation last season after switching to Norwich on loan during the January transfer window. Although he had a strong start, the move was undoubtedly disappointing when it came to an end. It’s unclear what Marquinhos will do after his return.
