With the January transfer window now open, any new additions to the Arsenal squad will require careful consideration and potential deregistration of current squad members.
The transfer window opened on 1st January and closes on 31st January.
As always, the January window is supposed to be an adjustment window to the problems that the summer did not solve as well as anticipating the needs for the upcoming season.
It is important to remember that Arsenal have already 25 players registered right now. Therefore, any new signings would mean deregistering someone from the squad.
As a reminder, here is the full playing squad under professional contract currently at the club. There are 27 players. There are also players under professional contract currently on loan like Marckese and Godfrey, not to mention Agyemang will also sign a pro contract in two months’ time.
The current squad:
GK (3) Zinsberger; D’Angelo; Williams
DF(10): Wubben-Moy, Beattie, Williamson (ACL), Catley, McCabe, Maritz, Wienroither (ACL), Codina, Ilestedt, Goldie (ACL)
MF (5): Little, Wälti, Pelova, Kühl, Cooney-Cross
FW(9): Mead, Miedema, Maanum, Hurtig, Foord, Gio, Russo, Lacasse, Blackstenius,
So, out of the 27 players, Gio, as announced by the manager, and Goldie, who did her second ACL during the summer, are the two players that are not registered in the WSL squad.
Should Emily Fox arrive in January (seems she already has arrived, just not officially), one defender would need to go either on loan and be sold.
As we seen so far this season, Katie McCabe is the first choice at right-back while Steph Catley is the first choice at left-back.
So, Noëlle Maritz heading to Aston Villa on a permanent deal was no massive surprise.
There are also rumours of Kathrine Kühl going on loan, as we can see that she is the fifth choice in central midfield for two places on the pitch.
Three starts and three appearances as a sub isn’t much game time for her with a total of 279 minutes. She is a starter at international level for Denmark, and there is a risk she will not get more time during the second half of the season.
Saying that, injuries can happen as we have seen this season and we had Little and Wälti both out at some point and having three players for two places was important. Let’s not forget that lack of depth cost the club last year in the Champions League semi-final, when the only substitutes in extra-time where three 17-year-olds.
There will also the problem of the February international break. UEFA teams play the Nations League finals and other friendlies, while CONCACAF nations will play the Gold Cup that last for nearly one month. Therefore, we are talking about D’Angelo and Lacasse away for a long time. Obviously, with 10 players in the forward positions, Lacasse’s departure is not really a problem.
D’Angelo being the back-up for Zinsberger means Williams could be at some point the sole goalkeeper available for the club should Zinsberger get injured or sent off in a game.
Again, squad size means Arsenal cannot really sign another player to cover for the month when D’Angelo is gone, unless someone leaves the club on loan or is sold.
Anyway, there is a rule that allows clubs with only one senior goalkeeper available to sign an emergency goalkeeper. That rule has already been used by Bristol this season. They have actually had five different goalkeepers selected on matchdays and currently have Haaland as their emergency goalie.
So, should something happen to Zinsberger while D’Angelo is away, Arsenal will be able to sign an emergency goalkeeper without being in trouble with the 25-player-squad rule.
We can also expect at some point during the second half of the season to see Leah Williamson and Laura Wienroither back in the squad following their ACL rehab, and they will be like two new signings adding depth to the defence.
There should be some movement during the January window, but it should not be more than three players coming or going out unless a special opportunity to sign a top-quality player appears.