The areas Arsenal must address in the January transfer window

Arsenal are in a very unusual situation heading into the January transfer window because the Gunners are sitting at the top of the Premier League.

But there are also a couple of clear areas to address in the squad.

The directors and Mikel Arteta may feel too nervous to alter the formula that has so far taken them to a five-point lead over Manchester City after 15 games, but a wise man fixes the roof whilst the sun is shining.

Any January business Arsenal do will not be drastic because a radical overhaul is not needed and there isn't a huge amount of money in the bank to play with in a month where it is expected to pay over the odds. That being said, Arteta has been clear that they are looking for additions.

"We are going to be active and active means we are looking to strengthen the team," he said.

"This squad still doesn't have the luxury of not maximising every single window. We have to do that because it's really important. But then we have to get the right profile, it has to be the right player to take us to the next level."

Here are the areas that Arsenal may be looking at in the January transfer window.

Forward

The term 'forward' is being used loosely here as Arsenal play in a very fluid way in attack, but essentially they need to cover for the fact that Gabriel Jesus is facing a spell on the sidelines after picking up an injury.

Arsenal are the favourites to sign Ukrainian talent Mykhaylo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk after what has been a very long and intense negotiation.

Other players such as Eintracht Frankfurt's Randal Kolo Muani and Barcelona's Ferran Torres have been linked with a move as well. Some goals could do with being added in January, that's for sure.

Central midfileld

Whilst Arsenal's midfield is operating at an impressive level right now, there is a lingering fear that it is form rather than the real deal for the long haul. That is why they are being linked heavily with the likes of Sergej Milinkovic-Savic from Lazio and Youri Tielemans from Leicester.

A bit more creativity from deep than can be given by Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey may be no bad thing for Arteta and Arsenal through the rest of the season. It would still leave him the option to pick a more combative midfield for the bigger games.

Winger

It certainly seems that Arsenal would like some more depth in the wide areas and that has led them to target two different Villarreal players.

21-year-old left winger Alex Baena is attracting a lot of attention and could be a very handy player to pick up. The other is the 20-year-old Yeremy Pino who is more primarily focused on the right wing but like Baena, is tactically very flexible.

Both players are very important for Villarreal and it will not be possible to sign both at once, but either could be a smart pick-up.

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