The January transfer window is officially closed. Arsenal signed two players, and the Premier League resumes on Sunday for the Gunners. Mikel Arteta’s squad is now set in stone through the end of this season. He has to make do with what he has, and in my opinion in has enough to win a lot of games.
As I have written several times, Arsenal needs to focus on the Europa League and FA Cup to potentially secure a spot in European football next season. It’s hard to imagine the Gunners getting enough points in the league to rise to 4th place or even 5th place, however, some of the teams currently ahead of us in the table are beginning to show some signs of stumbling. You never know until it’s over, however, I still think Arteta needs to play the odds and run out his best teams in the Europa League and FA Cup matches to come.
So, with that said, the Gunners travel to Burnley tomorrow to resume PL play. Burnley is currently in 13th place, but level with Arsenal on points. The Gunners topped Burnley in the Emirates on August 24th, 2-1. As usual, this will be a very difficult away game at Turf Moor.
Here’s the line-up I think Arteta should put on the pitch tomorrow…
Leno
Saka, Holding, Sokratis, Bellerin
Xhaka, Torreira, Ozil
Martinelli, Lacazette, Aubameyang
Hopefully, we will get a glimpse of Pablo Mari late in the contest.
Projected final score: Burnley 1 – Arsenal 2
COYG!
Cheers. Gunner1953
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Just Arsenal is reporting the Gunners are eyeing Las Palmas goalkeeper Alvaro Valles as a possible summer replacement for Aaron Ramsdale, who is expected to leave the Gunners.
L’Equipe is reporting Arsenal are among several clubs interested in signing Real Madrid defender Ferland Mendy. 
Fair Game is reporting that 58% of clubs across four divisions in English football are technically insolvent.
Stat of the Day: Arsenal has now recorded six consecutive away clean sheets in the Premier League, which is a new club record.
Mikel Arteta, “At the moment we are fighting for the league again for two consecutive seasons. We had our first experience in the Champions League for the boys. We have come quite far, not as far was we want that’s for sure and we still want to improve.”
Leandro Trossard, “The resilience has been brilliant. It is always tough when you lose, especially after the run we had by winning so many games. It’s up to the boys to show character and the mentality. We did that today (Sunday). All we can do is focus on ourselves.”
