January was expected to be a painful month for Arsenal. Their two best players, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, were free to talk to other clubs, being out of contract at the end of the season, and all the signs pointed to both players being sold in the midseason window. The Gunners, it was predicted, would be devastated.
As we now know, things didn’t quite turn out that way. Sanchez did indeed leave the Emirates Stadium, joining Manchester United as the highest-paid player in the Premier League, but Ozil signed a new three-and-a-half year contract, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang joining. It wasn’t the drastic overhaul many Gooners had been calling for, but it was a better outcome than most had hoped for.
However, in making these moves in January Arsene Wenger has sent some mixed messages about his side’s priorities for the rest of the season. Saturday’s defeat to Spurs in the North London derby left Arsenal eight points short of the top four, making it unlikely that they will qualify for the Champions League in the conventional way.
Now, the Gunners find themselves in the same situation Manchester United found themselves in last season, relying on the Europa League for a route into the Champions League for next season. Out of the FA Cup and sitting slumped in sixth place in the Premier League, this must be their focus between now and May.
But with Sanchez now gone and both Aubameyang and Mhitaryan both ineligible to play in the Europa League, having already played in Europe for Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United this season respectively, the Gunners have compromised their own strength in the attacking third of the pitch.
On top of this, Alexandre Lacazette is expected to be sidelined for four to six weeks after undergoing surgery on a knee injury, meaning Arsenal’s frontline in the Europa League will likely be led by Danny Welbeck for the next few weeks and months. The Gunners will have to depend on a striker who has scored just three times all season long.
This, of course, isn’t ideal and raises questions over Wenger’s planning. While defeat to Spurs on Saturday changed the course of Arsenal’s season, it has long been acknowledged that the Gunners would be struggling for a top four place. Their fans have recognised that the Europa League should be a priority, so why hasn’t Wenger? And if he has recognised it, why did he sanction moves that harm his side’s chances in the competition? This is the paradox that Arsenal’s January rebuild has presented.
