Arsenal love a deadline day move. Whether it was the quadruple addition of Mikel Arteta, Yossi Benayoun, Per Mertesacker and Andre Santos on the final day of the 2011 summer window, or the coup of Mesut Ozil two years later, the Gunners are no strangers to working up until the last moment.
Throwback to Arsenal fans reacting to the signing of Mesut Ozil on Deadline Day! 🤣@JimWhite was worried about the cameraman! 😭 pic.twitter.com/FdjIwVk46i
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) September 3, 2020
In both of the last summer transfer windows, Arsenal have used deadline day to its fullest, first triggering the release clause of Thomas Partey in 2020, and then signing Takehiro Tomiyasu in the most recent window.
And, following another dry January for the Gunners on the incomings front, it comes down to the final day once more.
But with nothing seemingly agreed with any clubs 36 hours before the deadline, it may be a case of triggering release clauses to make deals happen once more, as they did with Partey.
And there are 3 players with just such clauses that could yet change Arsenal’s season.
Alexander Isak
The one that all Arsenal fans will want.
Currently, the Gunners can call on Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah in the striker role, after the disintegration of the relationship between Mikel Arteta and then-captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
That bridge seems to have been burned, with Aubameyang left out of the squad trip to Dubai, while both Nketiah and Lacazette are out of contract in the summer. Having chased Dusan Vlahovic for much of January, it is clear that Arsenal know they are desperate for a striker.
Enter, Alexander Isak. The Swedish forward was spotted in London over the weekend (though this is not thought to be related to any potential move), and is an athletic striker currently plying his trade at Real Sociedad.
SAN SEBASTIAN, SPAIN – DECEMBER 18: Alexander Isak of Real Sociedad breaks past Etienne Capoue of Villarreal CF during the La Liga Santander match between Real Sociedad and Villarreal CF at Reale Arena on December 18, 2021 in San Sebastian, Spain. (Photo by Ion Alcoba/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
Still only 22 years old, Isak has experience linking up with Martin Odegaard, with the pair having flourished together at Sociedad, and he can add some potency to an Arsenal frontline that hasn’t scored since New Years Day.
However, to make the deal happen on deadline day, Arsenal would have to shell out an eyewatering 75 million pounds to activate the release clause set into his contract, which he only signed in the summer.
Will Arsenal pay Isak’s £75 million release clause? 👀#Isak #Arsenal #Transfers pic.twitter.com/CvXWiXfOUa
— AFTV (@AFTVMedia) January 30, 2022
Worse still, the money would have to be paid in one sum, as per Spanish guidelines. It would be a massive show of faith in the young man to come good, but it is one Arsenal seem unlikely to risk on deadline day.
Tyler Adams
Another player that Arsenal have tracked for some time, Tyler Adams is a versatile option that could add another blade to Arsenal’s swiss army knife.
Capable both at right back and in central midfield, his addition would ease the burden in both positions, where Arsenal clearly need alternatives to current first choice options.
The RB Leipzig and USA man would help offset the departures of Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Calum Chambers, combining their use into one role.
LEIPZIG, GERMANY – NOVEMBER 06: Tyler Adams of Leipzig in action during the Bundesliga match between RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund at Red Bull Arena on November 06, 2021 in Leipzig, Germany. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Already well established and still just 22 years old, he would not compromise the long term strategy of Arsenal’s “project youth”. And, should reports be believed, the American is available for just 32.25 million pounds.
Young cover for both the centre of the pitch and full-back, it feels as though Arsenal could do much worse.
Yves Bissouma
Not technically a release clause, but a seemingly set price has been placed on the head of one-time Arsenal target Yves Bissouma. That price? 50 million pounds.
The Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder has earned rave reviews over the past 18 months, but has just 18 months left to run on his contract, and will surely be cheaper come the summer.
As a result, he seems like the most unlikely option of the three, despite already being Premier League ready and available to slot into the Gunners midfield.
Brighton will have a decision to make if a £50 million bid is made for Yves Bissouma in January.
Aston Villa are keen and other clubs are interested.
He’s out of contract in June 2023. #BHAFC https://t.co/hpuI7pWoxd— Andy Naylor (@AndyNaylorBHAFC) January 9, 2022
It was Bissouma who, in 2019, was pictured laughing at the Arsenal players on the final day of the season as his Brighton side prevented the Gunners from making the top 4 under Unai Emery. Under Mikel Arteta, he could be the man to help them make it for the first time since.
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