The January transfer window isn’t always the best to buy in, but let’s take a look at some of Arsenal’s top winter signings.
In the middle of every Premier League season, many managers will be thinking about betting on a January transfer to turn their team around. Whilst the fans can use promo codes like the bet 365 bonus code to back their team, club bosses are looking for that next star signing to get them winning matches.
Arsenal haven’t always been the best at making the most of the winter window, with the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Wellington Silva, and Gabriel Paulista never really meeting expectations. But as you’ll see, they’ve had plenty of successes as well.
Honourable mentions have to go to Martin Keown and Thierry Henry, who returned to Arsenal in January windows after former spells with the club. Kolo Toure, Ted Drake, and Alan Smith also joined in mid-season, but that was in February and March.
For this article, we’re focusing on the players who joined Arsenal for the first time in the January window.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Aubameyang joined Arsenal in January 2018 from Borussia Dortmund and quickly captured the hearts of the fans. The striker raced into double figures for goals in his first half a season, before netting a further 60 goals in his first two full campaigns.
The Gabon international capped that second full season off with a brace in the FA Cup final to lift the trophy, before scoring a goal and the winning penalty in the Community Shield as well.
Even if Aubameyang’s form dipped a bit immediately after that, he’s clearly made his mark in North London, and there’s still time for more.
Lee Dixon
Dixon signed for Arsenal from Second Division club Stoke City in 1988. The right-back had never played top-flight football at that point, but he went on to win four league titles, three FA Cups, three Community Shields and the European Cup Winners’ Cup.
The Gunners also won the 1993 League Cup during Dixon’s spell, though he was suspended for the final. After over 14 years with Arsenal, Dixon retired at the club in 2002 on the back of a double-winning campaign.
Nwankwo Kanu
Still hugely popular with the Arsenal fans today, Kanu initially joined the club in 1999. He was another to win plenty of trophies, with two FA Cups, a Community Shield and two league titles in six seasons – including 24 appearances in the ‘invincibles’ campaign.
Anyone old enough to remember his hat-trick in 15 minutes against Chelsea to come back from 2-0 down is unlikely to ever forget it.
With Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp ahead of him, Kanu was always going to find it difficult to become the main man up front for Arsenal. But he was undoubtedly an excellent January signing for around £4m.
Theo Walcott
Walcott was just a teenager when he joined Arsenal in January 2006 for an initial fee of £5m (later rising to £9.1m with bonuses). He made 398 appearances for the club over the following 12 years, scoring 108 goals and assisting a further 78.
Though Arsenal were far less successful on the trophy-winning front during that period, Walcott did help them win three FA Cups and two Community Shields (he was injured for the 2014 Community Shield).
With outstanding pace and strong movement, Walcott was only really held back at Arsenal by his fitness problems. Regardless, it was clearly a great signing by the club.
Nacho Monreal
Monreal doesn’t often get the credit he deserves for a very good seven-year spell with the club. He made 251 appearances for Arsenal and won three FA Cups and three Community Shields during that time, playing in defence.
The Spaniard joined as a left-back, but he also proved himself an effective option at centre-back after a serious injury to Laurent Koscielny. He was one of Arsenal’s most consistent performers in his later years at the Emirates Stadium.
He also had his moments in front of goal. Perhaps Arsenal wouldn’t have won those three FA Cups without his quarter-final goal at Old Trafford in 2015, or at Wembley against Manchester City in 2017. No one ever seemed to have a bad word to say about him.