Four stars Arsenal failed to sign in January

Arsenal’s January transfer window was touted as season defining. With Arsene Wenger’s side in a position where they can genuinely challenge for the Premier League title for the first time in I-don’t-know-how-many seasons, a striker was the one player Gunners fans were crying out for.

They got Kim Kallstrom on loan, a 31-year-old midfielder who injured himself playing beach football prior to his move and will not be available for nearly two months. Despite the Swede’s qualities, January cannot be considered a productive month for Arsenal whilst the high-profile names which were mooted to arrive at the Emirates remain outside of North London. Here are four players who could have contributed to the culmination of the Gunners’ season.

Julian Draxler

Draxler was to Arsenal what Konoplyanka was to Liverpool. Incessantly linked with the club, many assured us that the German was essentially a Wenger player, and yet the 20-year-old remains a member of the Schalke squad. With a sensational 77% take-on completion rate (72/93), Draxler is an amazingly exciting footballer and it is easy to see why he is seen as one of Germany’s brightest prospects.

However, signing Draxler would not have met Arsenal supporters’ demands for a natural striker – he is primarily a winger, and bringing him to the club would have meant converting the German to the player which the Gunners require. With just one goal scored this season, this probably would have been a long-term process which may not have yielded the results necessary to ensure a successful end to the 2013-14 term; consequently, it might have been a wise decision from Wenger to opt to remain Draxler-less this year.

Dimitar Berbatov

Whilst lumbered with the now unavoidable tag of ‘lazy’, Berbatov is undoubtedly an extremely skilled footballer and could have been just the man to sit amongst the opposition and benefit from the patient football Arsenal play. With four goals in 18 appearances, it may appear that the Bulgarian is in a trough and would not have been the man for Arsenal, but his place in a weak, floundering Fulham team has to be taken into consideration when this is discussed.

Berbatov Goals Scored – PL 2013/14

Berbatov could have contributed more to Wenger’s team than just goals, too – he has created 25 chances this season, comfortably more than any other player in the Fulham team. Alas, he moved to Monaco; which, if you were following Squawka’s Twitter feed on Deadline Day, is a perfectly suited move.

Miroslav Klose

Germany’s joint all-time top goalscorer was apparently the subject of a Deadline Day loan bid from Arsenal, but Wenger must have thought he was still in 2008 when this thought ran through his mind. Whilst Klose was once a brilliant goalscorer, at 35 years of age he is no longer the player who can give a season the momentum it requires to end successfully and the move gave off a slight odour of desperation.

Klose Goals Scored – Serie A 2013/14

Klose has scored five goals in 16 appearances this season and although the German still knows which areas to be in and where the goal is he cannot deliver to the same standard which he once did. Moreover, he lacks the creative presence which other transfer targets have and Klose has provided his team-mates with only ten chances this season.

Alvaro Morata

At most clubs, Alvaro Morata would be very high up the pecking order. However, he finds himself at Real Madrid and as such has started just one game this season, with his other eleven appearances having seen him come off the bench during the last ten minutes or so. Despite this, Morata has scored three goals and has a chance conversion rate of 17.6% – only half a percent lower than Olivier Giroud’s, who has had much more playing time to become accustomed to a game.

Morata Conversion Rate – La Liga 2013/14

With a run of games, Morata will progress to be an excellent striker and, if Wenger showed the faith in him which he has done in other young players in years gone by, the 21-year-old Spaniard could have been a terrific addition to the Arsenal squad. Morata would have offered a viable alternative to Giroud and an alternative source of goals, making Arsenal less predictable and reliant on their French striker to lead their attacking line.