Arsenal transfers: Five players Arsene Wenger could sign in January

Maxime Gonalons

The defensive midfielder could be available on the cheap as his current club Lyon struggle for finances. With an excellent range of passing and ability to break up play, Maxime Gonalons could provide Arsenal with a younger and more mobile midfielder in the Mathieu Flamini mould. The 24-year-old has received six caps with the French national team and could be the perfect complement to the attack-minded Mesut Ozil and Jack Wilshere. Arsenal fans may point to their attacking line as needing more urgent attention, but Gonalons would signify a metronome in the middle of the park.

Dimitar Berbatov

From a glance, this looks like a terribly thought up rumour, but delve deeper and you see method to the madness. Dimitar Berbatov scored 15 goals for Fulham last season, and the veteran has four so far this campaign. The Cottagers look a better team with the former Manchester United striker in their line-up, and with Olivier Giroud, Nicklas Bendtner and Theo Walcott injured, Arsene Wenger may turn to the veteran Berbatov to fill the void in their absence. Now aged 32, the Bulgarian offers a short-term solution to Arsenal’s striker problems, and it seems Berbatov himself is interested in a move to The Emirates – posting a video titled “Could Fire Arsenal To The Title” to his Facebook page earlier this week.

Demba Ba

Unlikely to happen unless Chelsea sign a new striker themselves, though Wenger would be foolish not to try to prise Demba Ba to the Gunners. The Sengalese striker only moved to Stamford Bridge last January as the Blues suffered a shortage of striking options, but with the arrival of Jose Mourinho in the summer, and with him Samuel Eto’o, Ba has found himself further down the pecking order. Like Chelsea a year ago, Ba may attract Arsenal as a stop-gap for their injury crisis. The Gunners approached Chelsea for Ba on deadline day in the summer, but Mourinho blocked their approach after the confirmed signing of Ozil because he believed them to be a title threat. Seeing as Arsenal currently sit two points ahead of Chelsea at the top of the Premier League, Mourinho is unlikely to have changed his stance.

Alvaro Morata

The Real Madrid academy product has long been linked with a move to the Premier League, and Arsenal would be the perfect move if the 21-year-old were to leave the Spanish giants. The youngster is well thought of at Madrid, but is currently playing second fiddle to Karim Benzema. In a star studded line-up, there is constant pressure to perform, and Morata could benefit from a loan spell in London to either improve his prospects of breaking into the Madrid squad on a full time basis or to put himself in the shopping window should Los Blancos manage to sign Luis Suarez in the summer.

Salomon Kalou

Reports are suggesting that the Gunners may also be looking into the ex-Chelsea attacker Salomon Kalou. Wenger is said to be interested in the 28-year-old after being impressed by his recent form at Lille. Kalou would provide back-up for many of Arsenal’s bigger stars, but his positional versatility and experience of the Premier League is likely to be a big attraction for the Gunners boss. Lukas Podolski already offers Wenger a striker/winger option, and Kalou would be the same, having spent most of his six years at Chelsea on the wings, whilst chipping in with 17 goals from 40 appearances in France.