Arsenal Transfer News Roundup: Gunners not in talks for Amadou Onana; Thomas Partey unlikely to leave this month, and more - January 10, 2024
Arsenal will be desperate to return to wining ways when they host Crystal Palace at the Emirates on January 20 in the Premier League. Mikel Arteta’s team have lost their last three games across competitions.
Meanwhile, the Gunners are not in talks to sign Everton midfielder Amadou Onana. Elsewhere, midfielder Thomas Partey is unlikely to leave the north London side this month.
On that note, here's a look at the key Arsenal transfer stories as on January 10, 2024:
Arsenal not in talks for Amadou Onana, says Fabrizio Romano
Arsenal are not in talks to sign Amadou Onana this month, according to acclaimed transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.
The Belgian midfielder has endeared himself to clubs across the Premier League following a string of impressive outings for Everton. Journalist Sacha Tavolieri recently claimed that the Gunners have entered talks with the Toffees to secure the services of Onana in January, but Romano says that it's not the case.
In his column for Caught Offside, the transfer guru said that the north London side are having internal discussions regarding their plans for the month.
“I’m aware there have been some big claims being made about Arsenal intensifying negotiations to sign Amadou Onana from Everton. Of course, this has some Gunners fans excited, but I’m afraid it’s not quite the information I have for the moment,” wrote Romano.
He added:
“My understanding is that Onana has always been one of the players appreciated by Arsenal, but I don’t have more concrete updates than that just yet.
"Let’s see in the next days what happen, but, for Arsenal, it remains time to discuss internally before making concrete bids.”
Onana is a first-team regular under Sean Dyche and has appeared 21 times across competitions this season.
Thomas Partey unlikely to leave this month, says Fabrizio Romano
Thomas Partey is unlikely to leave the Emirates this month, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The Ghanaian midfielder is currently out with an injury and has appeared just five times across competitions this season for Arsenal. Interestingly, his place in the team has come under doubt following the arrival of Declan Rice from West Ham United last summer.
In his column for Caught Offside, Romano added that Partey could eventually leave the Gunners at the end of the season.
“We know Arsenal have issues in midfield because Thomas Partey has barely played this season due to injury.
"Onana is a fine talent who could offer something similar in midfield, but it’s still early to know what will happen with Onana, and also with Partey,” wrote Romano.
He continued:
“If you remember in the summer, Partey was already considered as candidate for sale until end of June, but, then, Mikel Arteta decided to keep him; so anything can happen there in the summer. For now it’s very quiet, as he’s injured now so there are no concrete updates so far.”
Arteta is expected to further bolster his midfield this year, with Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz a priority target.
Gunners slammed for signing Kai Havertz
Football pundit Simon Jordan has criticised Arsena for signing Kai Havertz from Chelsea last summer.
The German midfielder arrived at the Emirates in a reported £65 million deal but has struggled to live up to expectations. Havertz has appeared 29 times across competitions for the Gunners, scoring five goals and setting up one.
On talkSPORT, Jordan said that the 24-year-old is not the solution to Arteta’s striker woes at the Emirates.
“Havertz should be on that TV show Pointless. I don’t understand, that must be a tax write off for some reason or another. It’s all well and good saying they need a striker, but we said that last season, we said that one of the key components that was missing when Arsenal bottled it last year was someone that can change the direction of travel in difficult games, and they didn’t have it,” said Jordan.
He continued:
“(Gabriel) Martinelli wasn’t it. (Gabriel) Jesus isn’t it, and I’m sure Havertz isn’t it, but they went and spent £65million of the owner’s money on buying a player that Chelsea must have laughed to their back teeth off at getting that money back.”
The north London side remain on the hunt for a new striker, with Brentford’s Ivan Toney apparently a target.