The first January exit may have already been revealed for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side, with the Gunners said to be open to selling a defender just two years after he arrived at the Emirates Stadium.
The transfer window may be closed all around Europe now, with players in England knowing they have a club shirt to pull on for at least another four months, but clubs will already be looking at areas to improve, knowing they can make signings once the new year rolls around.
Many clubs will be looking to offload players who they previously failed to do so while also strengthening areas that they could not.
One Arsenal defender has now been touted for an exit, with suitors keeping tabs on his situation and weighing up a move.
Tomiyasu to return to Serie A?
The defender in question is Japanese international Takehiro Tomiyasu, who was highly rated when arriving in North London and quickly established himself as a solid first-team player for Mikel Arteta. However, since his debut season, the defender has not lived up to the standards he had previously set, with other circumstances affecting his squad status.
According to CaughtOffside, the Gunners are now open to selling Tomiyasu, with four clubs in Serie A monitoring the situation: AC and Inter Milan, as well as Napoli and Juventus. The same outlet reports it is unlikely that an exit midway through the season is an unlikely outcome.
Is a return to Italy the right choice for Tomiyasu?
With the four Italian giants scouting the defender, it raises the question of whether he should stay at the Emirates. Injuries have made it difficult to break back into the Arsenal first team, and Benjamin White has now solidified the right-back position as his own.
Selling players midway through the campaign would be the last thing on Arteta’s mind with such a small list of just 22 senior players. Recent weeks have seen how hard it is for the Gunners after new signing Mikel Merino picked up an injury in training before his debut, and Declan Rice picked up a red card, leaving them short for the North London derby.
This season could see the Japanese defender earn minutes in sporadic periods, such as cup and European action, but defence is the one area they do not fall short, with William Saliba and Gabriel rarely missing, and Jurrien Timber and Oleksandr Zinchenko also present alongside new signing Riccardo Calafiori, meaning next summer should see Tomiyasu look for his next club. Arsenal will not be selling cheap, though, given they just handed the defender a new two-year contract.