It looks like some interesting moves are going down this January as the transfer market opens. Even if the biggest shock up until now was seeing Rafa Benitez leave Real Madrid, there is a lot of promise regarding what is to come. Well-known players like Ibrahimovich, Ivanovic or Handanovic are in their last 6 months of contract and moves are imminent. Arsenal might be interested in taking advantage of what is going on but could also consider some surprising investments such as buying 23-year-old midfielder Giannelli Imbula. Currently with Porto, the Frenchman is totally out of tune with Portuguese football and has been added to the transfer list after just a couple of months spent for the former Champions League winners. According to Squawka, these are not just rumors, as the player’s agent admitted that the club is willing to sell.

Imbula started out good for Olympique Marseiile where he got 37 games during his debut season in Ligue 1. He continued down the same road with another excellent year which got him a place in Porto’s lot. Unfortunately, since November 2015 a rift was created and the player was left out of the lot. He is valued at about £11m which should not be a problem for the Gunners. The Frenchman has a similar playing style to that of former Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira, but he still has a very long way to go in order to get close to his fellow compatriot’s level. There is no doubt, Wenger could get the best out of the 23-year-old but there is a big question mark regarding how will Arsenal line up for next season. A couple of days back, it seemed that the Gunners could have started negotiations for Toni Kroos who was not too happy playing for Real Madrid. With Rafa Benitez leaving, the German might become untouchable which means there is no point in waiting for the summer to sign a midfielder to replace Flamini and Arteta. There would also be no point in signing Imbula just to have him around as a third option. He could come on loan though for the rest of the season and have a purchase clause Arsenal could trigger in case things go extremely well. The 23-year-old is a bit of a gamble and Wenger should not rush into reaching a permanent agreement with Porto.