Arsenal managed to come from behind to beat Stoke City thanks to goals from Theo Walcott, Mesut Ozil and Alex Iwobi. It has taken them to second in the table and a strong Christmas period will see them emerge as one of the main title contenders this season. Their ability to come back from a goal down shows the fighting spirit that exists in this current Arsenal squad. Teams of the past wouldn’t have been able to come back from the early disappointment and that will encourage Arsenal supporters that this season will be different.
It was a good performance, but you feel that there is much more to come from this Arsenal side. Hector Bellerin came back from injury and delivered an assured performance, providing Arsenal with an outlet down the right hand side. One blow was that Shkodran Mustafi left the field in the first half due to injury and will be missing for the next few weeks. They will have to use Gabriel in the centre back pairing with Laurent Koscielny and this is an area that opposition teams will target over the coming weeks.
According to reports, Arsenal and Liverpool are leading the race for Celtic striker Moussa Dembele. The Frenchman has been a sensation in the SPL, but he is unlikely to remain in Scotland for much longer as it is clear his talent belongs in a much bigger league. He was signed on a free transfer from Fulham and he is now valued at £20 million. Manchester City are also believed to be interested after the striker scored twice against them in the Champions League. The 20-year-old has scored 17 goals in 30 matches for Celtic and could be on the move in January.
Although Arsenal may be tracking the young striker, I don’t think it is likely that they will make a move in the next 12 months. They already have a good selection of strikers and won’t be able to offer Dembele regular first team football. Alexis Sanchez has been excellent this season and they still have Olivier Giroud at the club who is a very good Premier League striker. The Gunners may be tracking Dembele as a long term target, but it is likely that other teams will make their move earlier and therefore it is unlikely that Dembele will leave Celtic for Arsenal.
There is another transfer link that is more likely that is reported in the Mirror and that is a possible move for Julian Draxler. The German attacker has been out of favour at Wolfsburg and Arsenal could be set to make a £30 million bid in January. The same report also suggests that Arsenal want to sign Jesse Lingard, although this wouldn’t be as well received by supporters as he wouldn’t be seen as an improvement on the current squad. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott have been much better this season. It is doubtful that Lingard would even get many first team opportunities at the Emirates Stadium.
On Draxler, the midfielder would be a great signing and add genuine creativity to the squad. It would be a signal of intent from the Gunners and could be crucial in getting Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil to agree to new contracts. It would also provide the team with positive momentum ahead of their most serious title challenges in recent years. During the week, there was a report that Arsene Wenger wouldn’t want to sign any players in January, but supporters will be hoping that he does opt to enter the transfer market. Their rivals will be and if Arsenal want to win the title this year, a big money signing such as Draxler may be required.
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