The three Arsenal players who have two months to avoid the January axe

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Arsenal manager Unai Emery is building his squad in North London and January could be an interesting month.

There could be some activity at The Emirates Stadium this winter with players potentially arriving and leaving. Emery has made major changes since succeeding Arsene Wenger as Arsenal manager.

Ahead of the January transfer window, he will be running the rule over his squad options. Here are three players that have two months to convince Emery they can make an impact this season. If not, they risk leaving Arsenal permanently or on loan.

Shkodran Mustafi

Mustafi has suffered a major fall from grace since Emery took over at Arsenal. This season, the German centre-back cannot even get into the matchday squad for the Premier League.

The 27-year-old has played three times this term – all of his appearances have come in cup competitions. With Rob Holding and Konstantinos Mavropanos returning, a January exit is surely on the cards.

Mesut Ozil

Recent reports indicate that Ozil believes his time at Arsenal is over (The Mirror). The German midfielder has played just shy of 250 games for the Gunners since moving from Real Madrid but is out of favour at the moment.

Ozil, 30, has only managed one appearance in the Premier League this season and has not made the squad for the last three games. This included the Europa League clash with Standard Liege; Emery clearly prefers other options.

Emile Smith Rowe

Smith Rowe is not in the same boat as Mustafi and Ozil; he is not at risk of the permanent axe. But if he can’t prove to Emery that he should be in the first-team squad, he will probably be given another loan spell away.

The 19-year-old’s progress has been hampered by injuries, including one that limited his game time at RB Leipzig last season. With his route to the first-team currently blocked, Smith Rowe might benefit from a half-season loan stint.