Arsenal have three transfer targets who could solve a glaring midfield issue

Arsenal’s recent results have exposed their desperate need to acquire a penalty box “killer”, but that is not the only area of Mikel Arteta‘s squad that needs addressing in the transfer window.

Arteta and Arsenal’s sporting director Edu prioritised midfield recruits last summer, buying Declan Rice and Kai Havertz for a combined £170m to future-proof that position. At 25, Martin Odegaard is the eldest of Arteta’s first-choice midfield three with both Rice and Havertz a year younger.

However, most of their back-up options are on the wrong side of 30. Jorginho will turn 33 in December, Mohamed Elneny is 32 in July and likely to leave anyway, and Thomas Partey will be 31 in June. The latter has also been plagued by persistent injury issues since joining Arsenal from Atletico Madrid in 2020 and could also depart.

Partey’s absence has denied Arteta a more combative presence in the engine room. Although Havertz has not convinced in any role in which he has been deployed, there is a growing sense among fans that the Ghanaian would have had a key role to play alongside Rice and Odegaard had he been fit.

Judging by the names linked with moves to Arsenal, a ball-winning, box-to-box hybrid is what Arteta is looking for. In other words, a long-term replacement for Partey who can alternate with Rice in two of the three midfield roles.

The trio featuring most prominently on Arteta’s midfield wishlist are Everton’s Amadou Onana, who is also being linked with Manchester United, Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz and Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi – though prising any of them away from their respective clubs could be difficult this month.

Everton would be reluctant to sell one of their key men when they hover just a point above the relegation zone, Aston Villa are currently two places and two points above Arsenal in the Premier League table, and Real Sociedad have a winnable Champions League last-16 with Paris Saint-Germain coming up.

Arsenal may be forced to wait on a number of their top targets – with Ivan Toney now expected to stay at Brentford – though buying a midfielder is less pressing then a new striker.

Onana, Luiz or Zubimendi?

The question of who Arsenal should sign largely depends on whether you believe Rice is better suited to playing as a No 6 or a No 8.

There was a brief spell in October and November when Arteta started Jorginho as his midfield screener, which allowed Rice more freedom. That experiment, borne partly out of necessity due to an injury to Odegaard, has since been discarded with Rice returning to the base of midfield and Jorginho to the bench.

Rice became far more progressive in terms of passing and dribbling during his last couple of campaigns at West Ham and there is a sense now that a deeper position restricts him, even if he insisted recently that his best position “is probably as a No 6”.

If Arteta favours a deep-lying playmaker type then Zubimendi is the obvious pick. The 24-year-old plays as the pivot in Sociedad’s 4-3-3 formation and is adept at breaking up play and starting attacks.

Zubimendi has made a combined 54 tackles and interceptions in La Liga this season, which is the sixth-highest total among midfielders in the division, and completed 85.6 per cent of his passes. Barcelona identified him as the perfect Sergio Busquets replacement, a role he is also being primed for by Spain, but baulked at his €60m (£51.6m) release clause.

Luiz is capable of playing as a “regista” – a creative midfielder in front of the defence – too and has done so for much of his career at Aston Villa until adding goals to his game under Unai Emery. The Brazilian has scored 11 goals and registered eight assists in 45 Premier League games under the ex-Arsenal boss, a higher combined total than he managed in 114 appearances when playing for Dean Smith or Steven Gerrard.

Arsenal’s interest in Luiz is long-standing. They had a £25m bid rebuffed by Villa on deadline day in September 2022 and will have to offer far more if they are to tempt their rivals into a sale now.

Luiz has plenty of time remaining on his contract, which runs until 2026 and unsurprisingly given Villa’s lofty position he appears in no rush to leave this season’s surprise title challengers.

“I am very happy to hear the stories but I am here at Aston Villa,” Luiz told Sky Sports last month. “My head is here at Aston Villa.”

Onana is different in style and stature to the other two. The 22-year-old Belgian has generally played a deeper role under Sean Dyche this season but has been more of a playmaker than his midfield partner James Garner.

Onana has completed more progressive passes that move 10 yards or more up the pitch than any other Everton player and has the highest pass completion rate (85 per cent), while Garner has made more tackles and interceptions.

Onana’s passing range isn’t as expansive as Zubimendi or Luiz’s, but he would offer more physicality and dynamism to Arsenal’s engine room, not to mention an aerial presence. According to FBref, Onana ranks in the top five per cent of Premier League midfielders for aerial duels won. He could develop nicely into an all-action powerhouse rather than a sitter.

i‘s verdict: Luiz would be the perfect signing to slot in straight away. Into his fifth season in English football, the Brazil international has accumulated plenty of experience and can fulfill multiple roles which is a trait that Arteta admires. Add him alongside Rice and Odegaard and Arsenal would have a midfield to be reckoned with.