Mikel Arteta will have money to spend in January as ‘three long-term targets’ for Arsenal have been revealed.
The Gunners are currently four points clear at the top of the Premier League table and have won three games from three in the Champions League as the strength in depth of their squad is bearing fruit.
But further additions to the squad in January haven’t been ruled out according to CaughtOffside editor Mark Brus, who has revealed that ‘Arteta is expected to have money to spend this January if there are specific players he’s keen to bring in straight away’.
He claims there ‘could be a decent budget for Arteta to work with’ if they choose to strengthen in the winter window, but also revealed three ‘long-term targets’ for the Gunners.
He wrote: ‘I was told about three long-term targets to watch out for, with Arsenal eyeing youngsters such as Lille’s Ayyoub Bouaddi and Bayern Munich’s Lennart Karl, though the latter of those probably isn’t too realistic.
‘The north London giants might also be in the mix for Barcelona’s Marc Casado, though it’s again not clear how realistic a deal is as Chelsea are considered further ahead in the race for his signature.’
But Arteta won’t be thinking of further signings as things stand, with his squad undoubtedly as strong as it’s ever been since he arrived at the club, and with several Hale End academy graduates pushing senior stars for places.
Including Max Dowman, who made his first start for Arsenal in their Carabao Cup victory over Brighton on Wednesday and has made Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer giddy.
“Max Dowman had the most dribbles completed, the most fouls and duels won at 15-years-old, my goodness me,” Lineker said on The Rest Is Football podcast.
“Incredible. He [Arteta] has obviously got to get the balance right in terms of playing him and protecting him, but bloody hell man wow, 15, to go and play on that stage and just look right. He looks as if he belongs there.”
Lineker then quoted Arteta’s comments on the teenager from his post-match press conference before continuing, “I think people are thinking a generational talent, maybe England have found one. But you have to be slightly hesitant, not build him too much…”
Shearer then interrupted and said: “But you can’t not talk about him, Gaz. You have to.”
Lineker added: “Yeah you can’t, it’s like Lamine Yamal we talked about him when he was 15/16. If there’s something as exciting and talented as Max Dowman, then let’s talk about him. Ultimately, how well he does will be how he handles this and he seems to be someone mature beyond his years.
“He’ll have to deal with fame at a very early age which is not easy, but we’ve seen it before with young talent. It’s going to be really interesting following his career and seeing how Arteta does deal with him. It’s like anything, if he’s that good, you find a way to play him.”