Arsenal spent heavily in the summer and that was always going to impact on their mid-season recruitment with Mikel Arteta sticking with what he’s got at the Emirates
19:05, 02 Feb 2026Updated 19:07, 02 Feb 2026
Mikel Arteta was always likely to oversee a quiet January(Image: Nicolò Campo, LightRocket via Getty Images)
Arsenal are sitting pretty on top of the Premier League and, as a result, they were happy with their lot and opted against going hard at the January transfer market.
Unlike their closest rivals Manchester City, who landed Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi, Mikel Arteta hasn’t spent big on a squad that is already equipped to land multiple honours with William Saliba talking up their hopes of winning the quadruple.
Mikel Arteta’s summer spree saw him land the likes of Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze – which compliment the huge amounts of quality they already had at the Emirates. Mid-season deals are always tough to strike with limited quality on the market. Guehi was on the club’s radar but they ultimately chose not to make City’s financial offer for the centre-half.
Mirror Football takes a quick look at what January bought for the north Londoners with their month centring on exits – rather than arrivals.
Ins
It was always going to be a simple month for the Gunners with next to no holes existing in their squad. They still lack of a prolific forward, but it isn’t harming their ambitions so pursuing a new striker was never on the cards. They are very much still invested in Gyokeres.
READ MORE: Mikel Arteta makes Arsenal transfer deadline day vow after Mikel Merino injury update givenREAD MORE: Mikel Arteta has already received Sandro Tonali approval amid Arsenal transfer links
An injury to Mikel Merino, who has proved hugely versatile, led to suggestions that the club would consider dipping into the market – which Arteta confirmed – but nothing materialised.
“We are actively looking at options and we will continue to do that,” he said. “If we find a solution, we will try to do it. If we don’t, we will continue in the manner that we are now.”
Arsenal did secure some late business as they agreed a deal to sign defender Jaden Dixon from Stoke City for close to £500,000. The 18-year-old joins as a highly-regarded talent and the Gunners were able to see plenty of other interested parties to secure the player’s signature, reports football.london. Dixon made his debut in the Championship last season, but has yet to feature during the current campaign for the Potters.
Jaden Dixon is heading to Arsenal(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Sandro Tonali was offered to Arsenal by his agent – but there were no talks with Newcastle, reports the Athletic, But the Magpies were unwilling to do any business so the situation did not progress any further.
There was also an attempt to bring in Scottish youngster James Wilson on a loan for their Under-21 side. However, after holding talks, rivals Tottenham ultimately managed to complete a deal.
Outs
The major exit from the Emirates this window has been Ethan Nwaneri, who joined Marseille on loan. The teenager is highly thought of, but struggled for minutes with competition immensely high in north London. He provided a timely reminder of his quality by scoring on his Marseille debut.
Arsenal see the player are pivotal long-term and, as result, there is no purchase option included in the deal that saw Nwaneri head to the south of France.
Ethan Nwaneri was allowed to leave on loan(Image: AP)
The winger himself has said on his next move: “Anything is possible in football. We’ll see what happens. We’ll see if there’s any contact. I can’t tell you what will happen. We’ll see when it happens.”
Oleksandr Zinchenko has also been on the move. His loan spell at Nottingham Forest was cut short so that he could move to Ajax on a permanent deal. The versatile Ukraine star moving on for just £1.3m.
There were also moves for some of the club’s youngsters, with Maldini Kacurri, who failed to make a senior appearance, headed to League Two as he joined Grimsby.
Osman Kamara was another young player allowed to leave, he dropped down to the Championship with Blackburn. Elsewhere youngster Louie Copley has headed to Crawley on loan.
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