After making an impressive start to the 2023/24 campaign, Arsenal have their eyes locked on the January transfer window, giving Mikel Arteta the opportunity to bolster his squad.
The Spaniard has seen his side juggle injury and poor form as early as 50 minutes in the Premier League season, following the opening day blow to summer acquisition Jurrien Timber.
Alongside the Dutchman, a host of the Gunners’ first-team squad has taken time out during the opening 12 fixtures of the league campaign to recover from injury, with the issue of Arsenal’s lack of squad depth glaringly obvious once more.
Last term, Arteta’s side set an unwanted record in becoming the first Premier League side to lead the pack for 248 days without winning the title, with injuries on the home straight derailing the hopes of the club sealing their first crown since 2004.
With the January window approaching, the manager could limit the damage caused by lack of squad depth to avoid fate repeating itself, with a host of targets said to have been identified.
Arsenal January transfer targets
As reported by The Mirror, Arsenal will prioritise midfield reinforcements in January, with Aston Villa’s commander Douglas Luiz said to be the primary target.
The Brazilian was approached by the Gunners in the summer of 2022, in which Villa rejected three attempts to purchase their midfielder, who signed an improvement contract months later.
With his new contract in place and his importance to Unai Emery’s squad paramount, the 25-year-old will be hard to secure, however, he is not the only Brazil representative claimed to be targeted by the north Londoners.
A report from the Standard this week speculated that Arsenal will battle Chelsea for the signature of highly-rated Corinthians teen, Gabriel Moscardo.
The Standard relayed that the Blues have seen an opening bid of £18m turned down for the defensive midfielder, with the Brazilian outfit expected to want a fee in the region of £26m for their starlet.
Considering Arteta’s need for additional midfield assets, Moscardo’s future movements could be something for those at the Emirates to follow closely ahead of the January window.
Gabriel Moscardo’s playing style
Standing at 6 foot 1, the 2005-born spectacle has caught the eye of clubs in Europe for good reason, with his commanding presence in midfield something that his boyhood club have benefited from.
In the summer, the teenager was promoted to Corinthians’ first team, and has since played 23 games for the senior side across all competitions in the 2023 Brazilian footballing calendar.
Deployed in central midfield with the capacity to play as a lone defensive option or in a pivot, the youngster has been described as a “good box-to-box player” by talent scout Jacek Kulig in an in-depth scouting report.
Kulig nominated the Brazilian’s strengths as being ball-carrying, high defensive IQ and passing range, also dubbing the teen a “natural born leader” for his dominating presence in the engine room.
Such praise is supported by Moscardo’s per 90 statistics over the past year during his emergence, in which he averages 1.49 progressive carries and a monstrous 3.17 tackles per 90, making his actions known when protecting the back line, via FBref.
Having played only 23 domestic senior games and without any experience in European football, the fee exceeding £20m for the midfielder could be a questionable hurdle for Arsenal to consider, although it wouldn’t be the first time that the Gunners have struck gold in Brazil.
Arsenal's successful Brazilian recruitment
While Moscardo remains as a fairly low-profile starlet, the 18-year-old could follow in the footsteps of many success stories before him in north London.
For starters, the club’s current sporting director Edu Gaspar was signed from Corinthians by the Premier League outfit in 2001, where he went on to win two Premier League titles as a player, with his status at the Emirates still prominent today.
One of the Brazilian’s teammates, Gilberto Silva, was also picked up from Brazil by the Gunners, arriving from Athletic Mineiro to eventually win two Premier League titles and become a vital part of Arsene Wenger’s Invincible side.
Talent from South America has done the north Londoners plenty of favours in the past, and also present, with Edu’s expertise being the driving force behind Arsenal’s 2019 capture of Gabriel Martinelli from Ituano.
How Moscardo could repeat the success of Gabriel Martinelli
Like Moscardo now, no one knew much about Martinelli, whom the Gunners paid just £6m for only four years ago.
Arriving as an 18-year-old, not many could have predicted the success that the winger would record at the Emirates, with the mere fee paid to obtain him turning into something of a priceless transaction.
Today, the 22-year-old is a crucial member of Arteta’s squad, and has 144 appearances to his name with Arsenal, scoring 35 goals and recording 22 assists to see his market value soar to a magnificent €150m (£131m), as per Football Observatory.
With interest in another Brazilian teen surfacing, the Gunners could be on the cusp of unearthing another South American prodigy, with Moscardo already labelled a “serious baller” by U23 scout Antonio Mango.
Referring to how the 18-year-old could replicate the movements of Martinelli in north London, his style of play fits the demographic of player that the Premier League side are yearning for.
When the 22-year-old first arrived at the Emirates, his patience and confidence in making the left-wing his place to claim made his rank as the number one in such an area undeniable.
Gabriel Moscardo
Declan Rice
Thomas Partey
83%
92%
92%
1.1
1.3
1.0
2.1
2.0
1.5
3.6
5.0
6.0
1.2
0.5
1.5
4.9
3.9
4.0
Moscardo could repeat fate with his ball-playing and combative energy in midfield, as Arteta prepares for his hunt to discover an additional middle-of-the-park warrior to complement Declan Rice, and become the heir to Thomas Partey.
When revising the table above, it’s clear to see that despite being in the early days of his career, the teenager is displaying the fundamentals traceable within the Arsenal duo’s game.
The signs are there that the 18-year-old could one day be another Brazilian success story for the Gunners, possessing the capacity to follow in the footsteps of Martinelli.
