Viktor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak decision made - Dream Arsenal squad after January transfers

It's been a tough month or so for Arsenal on and off the pitch. They've won just two of their last six games in all competitions, with those victories coming against Shakhtar Donetsk and Preston in the Champions League and Carabao Cup respectively, and defeats against Bournemouth, Newcastle and Inter.

And behind the scenes, sporting director Edu has resigned, with the former Gunners midfielder expected to take up a job with Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis to run his football operations. It's a bitter blow for Arsenal at a time when results have gone awry.

Mikel Arteta has struggled with injuries to his squad this season, with captain Martin Odegaard the biggest issue with an ankle injury that has kept him out of action for two months. Elsewhere, the squad looks like they could really do with some fresh impetus in attack, having missed out on a true No.9 in the summer.

READ MORE:Odegaard starts, Havertz and Rice overcome injury, Nwaneri call – Dream Arsenal XI vs Chelsea

READ MORE:Declan Rice injury latest as Arsenal brace for nightmare triple Chelsea scenario

The Gunners currently sit fifth in the Premier League table, seven points behind leaders Liverpool. While it's not an insurmountable gap, it's less than ideal with just 10 games gone, and Arsenal could do with a boost for the second half of the season.

If the Gunners could get their top candidates in the January transfer window, it would certainly give them some fresh impetus to continue their title charge and an assault on the Champions League front. But what would their squad look like with a dream transfer window behind them?

Signings

It's clear that the Gunners have been lacking a real No.9 for some time. While Kai Havertz has filled in well after initially joining as a midfielder, they don't have an out-and-out goalscorer on their books. A number of names have been linked over the last few years: Victor Osimhen, Benjamin Sesko, Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres chief among them.

While Osimhen may actually be the cheapest available in January, and Sesko has more of the age profile that the Gunners would be tempted to go for, Arsenal need to buy for the here and now - and it's incredibly unlikely Newcastle will be willing to sell Isak mid-season. Gyokeres is in red hot form and seems unlikely to stay at Sporting beyond the end of the season.

The Gunners have the pulling power and money to get a deal done in January if they really want to - and beating the likes of Manchester United and others to the signing would be a big bonus, especially with his release clause rumoured to be lowering.

Outgoings

One area the Gunners need to improve. While they sold the likes of Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah and Aaron Ramsdale in the summer, they arguably didn't get the most value out of the deals.

There have been injury issues, but the likes of Jakub Kiwior, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu haven't been playing much at all recently, and one or two should be moved on - possibly Zinchenko, given his contract has the least time to run, and the Gunners can't keep allowing players to run down their contracts and leave on free transfers. With the amount of quality coming from the academy in the form of Myles Lewis-Skelly among others, it doesn't make sense to keep so many players on high wages who will not be getting much game time behind Ben White, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori.

The same goes for Kieran Tierney. An unfortunate injury meant he was unable to leave in the summer window; with the left-back approaching a first-team return, it's time to find him a new club, whether on loan or permanently.

Dream Squad

With those in mind, here's how Arsenal's dream squad could look in February:

Goalkeepers: Raya, Neto, Setford, Porter

Defenders: Saliba, White, Gabriel, Timber, Kiwior, Tomiyasu, Calafiori, Lewis-Skelly (U21)

Midfielders: Partey, Odegaard, Jorginho, Rice, Nwaneri (U21), Merino

Forwards: Havertz, Saka, Jesus, Martinelli, Trossard, Sterling, Gyokeres.