Over the past few days, links to Fulham's Joao Palhinha have emerged. However, getting a deal over the line would be extremely difficult for so many reasons. One is that football.london understands the midfielder attracting interest from several Premier League clubs as well as Bayern Munich.
The Portuguese international came close to making the switch to Germany in the summer window after a €65million (£55million) deal had been agreed only for the move to collapse at the last minute on deadline day because the Cottagers could not sign a replacement in time.
Palhinha has since signed a new deal at Craven Cottage, which reportedly doesn't contain a release clause That leaves the west London outfit in a strong negotiating position should Bayern or another team wish to pursue a move for the 28-year-old next month.
Now, the likely finances involved in any deal may complicate things for Arsenal. Following an outlay of more than £200million in the summer, they have to be wary of not breaching any financial fair play (FFP) rules especially when considering Everton have been hit with a 10-point deduction - subject to appeal - after falling afoul of the new profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
Perhaps if the north London outfit were to raise funds by selling Thomas Partey - there is an expectation that they will, once again, be willing to sell the Ghanaian for the right price in January following his latest injury setback - a move for Palhinha becomes more feasible. But even if the stars align, is he what's required right now?truth to the speculation then one can only assume the Gunners are planning to bring in cover for Declan Rice in January because the timing of the Africa Cup of Nations dictates Partey and Mohamed Elneny will potentially miss up to a month of action if selected by Ghana and Egypt respective.
Similar to previous links with Fluminense's Andre, targeting Palhinha would make sense if Rice was the sole available midfielder to get the Gunners through four Premier League fixtures, and possibly an FA Cup fourth-round tie should they overcome Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.
Even if there are six games to play during the period from January 13 to February 11 then that's where Arteta can turn to Jorginho. The 31-year-old may not be a regular but he has proven against Manchester City and in the Champions League this season that he can do a job when called upon.
Crucially, Palhinha is a classic holding midfielder whose game is modelled on breaking up play and providing a platform for the more creative players to get on the ball. This is not a bad thing, but Arsenal don't necessarily need another of his profile for the time being. Granted Jorginho is out of contract - along with Elneny in the summer - so then, not January, would be the perfect time to address the position.
If Arsenal are going to make a signing in January, many supporters will point to the attack needing to be improved. That's a fair argument as a deal for Pedro Neto or Ivan Toney might be what's required for the second half of the campaign, but there perhaps are greater needs in defence.
As is the case with Partey and Elneny, Takehiro Tomiyasu could also be away for up to a month from January as he's expected to be named in the Japan squad for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup and his likely departure would leave Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jakub Kiwior as the senior defenders at Arteta's disposal.
Unless Jurrien Timber makes a miraculous recovery from an ACL injury, or Cedric Soares gets an opportunity then it's a risky strategy to try and navigate a hectic fixture schedule with limited defensive options and we saw towards the end of last season how one major injury cost them dearly in the title race.
The January transfer window will present Arteta and Edu with an opportunity to improve the Arsenal team where they see fit. Looking at the squad as is it currently and taking the timing of the aforementioned international tournaments into consideration, a defensive addition seems more appropriate.
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