DBasia.news – Winter transfers opened in January and many clubs have made it a chance to recruit top players, as it is uneasy to recruit players in the middle of the season, not to mention they need time to adapt.
No doubt the winter transfer market is often used as a ‘pitstop’ to cover areas that still have weaknesses or fill posts left by players due to injuries. Arsenal is not a club that has a hobby of shopping for players in January.
However, from the era of Arsene Wenger, Unai Emery, and Mikel Arteta, Arsenal quite often recruited players because of the team’s needs, especially for 22 years Wenger has been training from mid 1996-2018. Not all of them contributed greatly, but some were quite successful when recruited.
Judging by the names of Arsenal’s new recruits in the January transfer window, BolaSkor.com will look at the top five European names and their contribution to the team. Here’s the full explanation:
1. Nwankwo Kanu
Arsenal’s best player who was recruited in the winter version of Wenger. “Maybe Kanu (Arsenal’s best recruit in January). In (transfer) in the middle of the season. He has a big impact and a great player,” said Wenger told beIN Sports.
The Nigerian striker was recruited from Inter Milan in 1999 for 4.15 million pounds. Kanu played for five years at Arsenal with a total of 44 goals in 197 matches.
In the 1999-2000 season Kanu scored seven goals and provided two assists from five chances to play as a starter in the Premier League. Kanu can always be relied upon by Wenger as a coating as well as a competitor for Nicolas Anelka and Dennis Bergkamp at the time.
Five years is enough for Arsenal fans to love his name. Kanu is ranked 13th of the greatest Arsenal player by the choice supporters. Not bad for a recruit coming in January.
2. Theo Walcott
The Southampton academy product was recruited in 2006 and played for 12 years with Arsenal. A long time. Nevertheless Theo Walcott’s career at Arsenal fluctuates as he is often injured and inconsistent in playing.
Walcott won two FA Cup and Community Shield titles before heading to Everton. The 31-year-old’s talent did not develop to the max, although Wenger placed him in the position of a wing attacker or striker.
3. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
This one name should be included in the best Arsenal recruitment category in the winter. Arsenal recruited him from Borussia Dortmund for £ 56 million (then record transfer) in January 2018.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang immediately became a mainstay striker in front, occasionally a wing attacker. Last season (2018-19) Aubameyang shared the Premier League’s top scoring title with the Liverpool duo, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane with a record of 22 goals.
The 30-year-old striker is still at the forefront of Mikel Arteta’s landing team. No doubt the Gabon national team striker is one of Arsenal’s best recruits in the winter.
4. Henrikh Mkhitaryan
As part of Alexis Sanchez’s transfer deal to Manchester United, Arsenal recruited Henrikh Mkhitaryan in January 2018. At first the attacking appearance of the Armenian midfielder was good, especially when collaborating with Aubameyang – a former teammate in Dortmund.
But in 2019 Mkhitaryan lost his place at Arsenal and was then loaned to AS Roma for three million euros plus a variable worth 100,000 euros. The 31-year-old player lost his place as the club borrowed Dani Ceballos from Real Madrid and still has Mesut Ozil.
5. Andrey Arshavin
The Russian striker brought in Wenger to the Emirates Stadium in 2009 from Zenit Saint Petersburg. His career did not last, only until 2013 and was loaned back to Zenit, but Arshavin had one special moment.
That moment happened when Arshavin scored four goals when Arsenal drew 4-4 against Liverpool at Anfield in April 2009. That moment will always be remembered in the history of English football and clubs, although Arshavin’s career afterwards faded and he retired from playing with Kairat in 2018.