Five transfers Arsenal could still complete this week before the January window closes

The Gunners have a week to finalise any deals and sign the new forward Mikel Arteta desperately need

Kieran Tierney is among those rumoured to be leaving Arsenal during this transfer window

With just a week left until the January transfer window closes, the pressure is on for Arsenal to close deals – both for incoming players, and those who are leaving the club.

Manager Mikel Arteta has been open about the club’s need for forwards due to losing Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus to injury. He said on Friday: “We lack goals, we lack people, we lack options in the frontline, it’s clear.”

He added: “It’s clear that for the period that we have lost them, ideally we need some help, because we were short already and we’re even shorter. The team has still coped with that but we have do what is right for the club.” However, Arteta insisted they would not be looking at signing just any player. “We need someone that makes us better and makes an impact on the team,” he said

Arsenal are said to be in the race to sign Matheus Cunha, the 25-year-old Wolverhampton Wanderers striker. According to Sky Sports, a £60million bid could be enough for Wolves to sell the Brazilian, but manager Vitor Pereira has previously remained certain that Cunha was committed to his current club.

Pereira said: “He is committed to Wolves But in your life when you start to listen that other clubs (are interested), he’s human and it’s normal in football. He needs to put his mind on the target, to increase his level because he’s come from injury and it’s normal he’s not at the same level now.”

Arsenal are also said to be in discussions over signing Sverre Nypan, the 18-year-old midfielder from Trondheim, Norway. Talks are said to have opened and Nypan was seen in London this week. However, Manchester City are also said to have their sights on the midfielder.

Nypan signed for Norwegian side Rosenborg at the age of 15 in 2022, with his last contract extension being signed in September 2023 to expire at the end of next year.



18-year-old Sverre Nypan (Image: Getty Images)

He scored his first goal for Rosenborg in 2023 aged 16 years and 145 days, which made him the youngest player in the club’s history to score in a league match. The same year, he was featured on the Guardian’s ‘Next Generation’ list of the 60 best young players in the world. He has four caps for Norway’s U21 national side and made 24 club appearances last season – scoring nine goals and making five assists.

Meanwhile, Kieran Tierney could be leaving Arsenal after talks for Celtic to resign their former defender on a pre-contract deal were held this month. The 27-year-old joined the Gunners in 2019 for a reported fee of £25million and is heading into the final six months of his contract. Manager Mikel Arteta has told him he can leave the club, Sky Sports reported at the start of the month.

Tierney spent last season on loan at Real Sociedad. Discussing the player last month, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers said: “We’ll always be linked with top players and especially players that are one of us. Kieran was an instrumental part of a really, really successful period when I was here. His talents then took him to another challenge but we’ll be linked with lots of names and with Kieran naturally because of his situation. But we’ll only talk about a player once he’s signed.”