The World Cup may be well underway, but Arsenal fans' attentions are quickly beginning to turn to the January transfer window. It may be one month until it opens, but with an unexpected title charge on the cards, many are keen to see the Gunners bolster their squad depth.
It does seem as though they are making plans after owner Josh Kroenke held meetings with club officials on a visit to London at the start of this month. Mikel Arteta meanwhile has hinted that Arsenal are looking to increase their title chances by stating that his side are now targeting higher calibre additions to the squad.
"Obviously with the position that we are in right now as well, it demands as well another level of player - and that player has to be available," the Spaniard told reporters last week. "We will look at everything and let’s see what we can do." Forwards Facundo Torres and Mykhalo Mudryk have been linked, while Eintracht Frankfurt's Evan Ndicka has been mentioned as someone who could improve the left centre-back spot. Another position where Arsenal may look to strengthen is in midfield.
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Partly this is due to the performances of Albert Sambi Lokonga. The Belgian was brought in last summer from Anderlecht for a fee in the region of £18 million. While this was an exciting move at the time, Edu was keen to point out the Lokonga was a signing for the future.
"Sambi can play in different positions, number six and number eight," he told Arsenal.com at the time. "We have two senior players in those positions which is Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka, and Sambi will be the one to replace them when it's necessary. That's the strategy, to have someone behind the senior guys, to play, to develop and to be one day the main player in the team."
Since then Lokonga has been used in both positions, but has primarily played as a six due to Thomas Partey's poor injury record. While the Belgian has shown some promise on the ball in this situation, it seems he still has more developing to do off it, and as a result Arteta turned to Mohamed Elneny to play at the base of the Arsenal midfield during crunch games at the end of last season.
The plan was to continue playing the Egyptian there in Europa League matches this season, with Lokonga moved to the more advanced roll as back up to Xhaka, but when Elneny picked up an injury in his first match of the campaign against Fulham, Lokonga was forced to operate deep again. He has struggled at times in this position and has suggested in interviews that he would prefer a more liberated role. Arteta though has seemingly felt the Belgian needs to be doing more to justify his claims.
"We will see more and he needs to prove that what he's asking for, he can produce on the pitch," the Spaniard told football.london . "And that's the challenge for every single player, to raise the level and put the right competition in the team, and when you play, perform in a way that [means] we can win and play good enough to win the games."
With the likes of Danilo and Youri Tielemans both being linked with a potential move in January you get the feeling that Lokonga's future could be a pivotal factor to consider. Danilo is more of a deeper player, while Tielemans' strengths lie in offensive areas although both can play in either position. Should Arsenal opt for the former then Lokonga's future would seem to lie as an eight and vice versa if they went for the latter. It will be a key decision for the Gunners hierarchy to make, and one that could be crucial in providing them with the depth they need to challenge for the Premier League title.
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