It’s already obvious who Arsenal should be trying to sign in January
The summer transfer window has only just closed but we can’t help but look ahead to January already.
Some Arsenal fans were left disappointed by the anticlimactic end to their transfer business.
The summer-long pursuit of Julian Alvarez went nowhere and although the club did consider Malick Fofana on deadline day, no replacement was brought in for Gabriel Martinelli.
It was clear Arsenal needed to elevate the attack at the start of the summer and they will surely revisit that in the January window.
We think their main target is an obvious one: Eli Junior Kroupi.
Arsenal should sign Eli Junior Kroupi in January
Kroupi was on Arsenal’s radar early in the summer but then links seemed to cool on the Bournemouth forward.
Reports have since suggested that Arsenal would’ve moved for him had he not picked up an injury that ruled him out for months.
On paper, his profile makes complete sense for what Arsenal are looking for. When you consider what Alvarez would have brought — a second-striker type with ruthless ball-striking quality — that’s Kroupi to a tee.
Although young and a lot more inexperienced than Alvarez, Kroupi is capable of those incredible individual actions. The moments of magic. And none more magical for Arsenal fans than that goal against Manchester City that handed the Premier League title to North London.
A HUGE goal for the title race!
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 19, 2026
Eli Junior Kroupi with a glorious finish to give Bournemouth the lead against Man City! 🍒 pic.twitter.com/Zd5si2q7yX
PSG had been strongly linked with Kroupi and the Parisians were said to be his preferred destination but they signed Ferran Torres, Maghnes Akliouche and Mika Godts to bolster their attacking options instead.
We think it’s fair to say they have enough there now, which should place Arsenal as the best-positioned club to sign him.
With Bournemouth having quoted £90million for him in the summer, you would assume that won’t change too much regardless of his injury.
And with the likes of Savinho moving for £85million and Bradley Barcola for £123million, that’s honestly not outrageous for Kroupi considering the ceiling he has.
Eli Junior Kroupi in, Viktor Gyokeres out?
Peculiarly, Viktor Gyokeres has yet to feature in the Premier League this season. Not even a cameo off the bench.
We might be looking too far into it, but something seems really off there.
Whether Mikel Arteta doesn’t fancy him at all anymore, and was trying to push him towards the exit door in the summer — potentially opening up a spot for Alvarez, for example — is unclear.
His situation becomes increasingly strange when you consider how Arsenal made contact with Lautaro Martinez late in the window.
If an exit for Gyokeres is being quietly planned for January, Kroupi would be someone who could fill that void immediately, despite the difference in age.
Kroupi scored 13 to Gyokeres’ 14 Premier League goals last season.
Until then though, Gyokeres will be needed. The two-game-a-week schedule is going to start creeping in and Arteta will have to lean on the Swede to avoid running Kai Havertz into the ground (again).
But if Arsenal are to make an attacking addition in January, which they definitely should, it may well be Kroupi.
