Arsenal could be extremely busy all the way up until transfer deadline day with Mikel Arteta close to putting the finishing touches on his option for the remainder of the season.
It's been a very good start to the new year for the Gunners on and off the pitch. Two wins and a draw from their Premier League games - against Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United - this month means they remain five points clear at the top of the table.
The one downside has been Friday night's 1-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City in the fourth round of the FA Cup, as wrapping up deals for Leandro Trossard and Jakub Kiwior as well as agreeing a new contract with Gabriel Martinelli has been hailed by large sections of the Arsenal fanbase.
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With not long to go until deadline day, it's safe to say that Arteta and sporting director Edu Gaspar remain keen to address the remaining holes in the first-team squad and that's following some impressive business last summer and early in the current window.
So where do the Gunners need to strengthen and what could their Premier League squad look like when the January transfer window closes? Below, football.london takes a look.
For once, a transfer window will pass without any speculation regarding Arsenal signing a goalkeeper. Aaron Ramsdale is the undisputed first-choice (he even has the shirt number to prove it following Bernd Leno's exit last summer), Matt Turner has proven to be a capable deputy and there are high hopes for youngster Karl Hein.
The addition of Jakub Kiwior means the Gunners now have cover in all positions in the defensive department, so much so that Cedric can join Fulham on loan and wouldn't need replacing as he was third-choice behind Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu in the pecking order at right-back anyway.
As reported by football.london, should Arsenal win the race to sign Ivan Fresneda then any deal is likely to see him head back out on loan to Real Valladolid for the remainder of the season so he wouldn't factor in the club's plans with regard to the Premier League squad.
Midfield is an area that Arteta has revealed he is hoping to bolster. Martin Zubimendi is a name being strongly linked but the Gunners would have to activate his €60m (£52.8m) release clause as Real Sociedad aren't willing to negotiate. Ibrahima Bamba is a cheaper option at £26m and Brighton are said to be demanding £90m for Moises Caicedo.
Arsenal entered the January transfer window needing to sign a forward after losing Gabriel Jesus and Reiss Nelson to injury. Whilst a deal for Mykhailo Mudryk failed to materialise, swooping for Leandro Trossard means there is cover across all three positions in the front line.
Arsenal's Premier League squad after three potential transfers:
Goalkeepers: Ramsdale (HG), Turner
Defenders: Tierney, White (HG), Gabriel Magalhaes, Kiwior, Holding (HG), Tomiyasu, Zinchenko
Midfielders: Partey, Odegaard, Smith Rowe (HG), Fabio Vieira, Lokonga, Elneny, Xhaka
Forwards: Gabriel Jesus, Nketiah (HG), Trossard, Nelson (HG)
Senior U21 players: Hein, Saliba, Saka, Martinelli, Marquinhos, Caicedo
It should also be noted that even with the arrivals of Trossard and Kiwior, there's more space for non-homegrown signings, so if Zubimendi, for example, was to join, he can be registered. This is because no more than 17 overseas players can be named in a Premier League squad with the remaining eight places available to homegrown (HG) members of the squad.
To be considered home-grown, players need to have been registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Welsh FA for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21).
Meanwhile, the likes of Bukayo Saka, William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli don't have to be named in the squad due to the Premier League rule which states: "An Under 21 player is defined as one who is under the age of 21 on 1st January in the year in which the season commences.
"Under-21 players are eligible over and above the limit of 25 players per squad. For the 2022/23 campaign, Under-21 players will have been born on or after 1 January 2001."
As Caicedo was born after January 1, 2001, he would not have to be registered in the squad, but if Cedric leaves for Fulham then Arsenal's number of non-homegrown players will stand at 14.
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