Arsenal’s Free Agent Dilemma: Desperation or Smart Short-Term Fix? | OneFootball

When Martinelli got injured at Newcastle, I thought it was unlikely Arsenal would look at who is out of contract. It would be the club holding their hands up, admitting they got their transfer policy wrong in January.

With Havertz now out for the season, though, it could be argued that a free agent is a way to strengthen the squad.

Very few believe a front three of Trossard, Nwaneri, and Sterling is good enough to catch Liverpool. Even if you did, can you realistically play that trio every few days?

I have suggested a change of formation where wing-backs become an attacking outlet. Other Gooners have suggested promoting from the academy, while there is even talk of asking a Merino or Calafiori to play out of position.

While not ruling out the option of offering a deal to someone out of contract, Mikel Arteta is adamant it must be an individual who can compete both on and off the pitch. This was also the manager who said we were short up front, needed help, and that his peers were working hard behind the scenes to improve the squad. So who knows anymore?

To clarify, the options below are not me suggesting attackers who will make a difference in the title race or Champions League. If they were that good, they would not be unemployed.

If the Gunners found themselves winning 3-0 and you wanted to rest a Trossard, could you bring one of these names on?

If you needed a goal with five minutes left and had nothing on the bench, is one of these names worth a risk?

It is a body for the sake of a body, but do not blame me—blame our owners.

Ranked best to worst …..

Mariano Díaz

Now, this is realistic—not in terms of scoring goals, as the striker managed none in La Liga last season.

Yet, in terms of an extra body to bring on (even if only to give someone a rest), at least you know the 31-year-old was playing and training at the highest level as recently as last season. It is not a case of not knowing if he can keep up in practice.

The obvious question, then, is how do you go from Real Madrid to Sevilla to no one wanting you?

It is believed he has been unrealistic with his wage demands compared to his goal ratio. He and his agent have called clubs’ bluff, thinking suitors would blink, and it has left him out of work.

His and Arsenal’s situation could work for both parties if he becomes more realistic about his salary. At the very least, he could be an added option while putting himself in the shop window.

Maxi Gómez

The acceptance is that you are not going to find a striker who will score 10 goals between now and May who is a free agent.

Hence, there is a reason they are unemployed.

Yet, if the criteria is a striker who can handle training at the highest level and be trusted to do a job when you are winning and want fresh legs for the last 15 minutes, the Uruguayan ticks the right boxes.

After only seven goals in two years in Turkey, Trabzonspor loaned him to Cádiz. After failing to score in 31 games, he was relegated from La Liga.

He is only 28, so it is not impossible for a manager to get him to find his mojo again. However, he needs to lower his £1.5 million-a-year demands.

Gerard Deulofeu

This is a gamble, but it becomes more realistic if the Spaniard is truly as healthy as he claims.

Unlike others on this list, the 30-year-old is not out of contract due to age but because his body has been through hell since 2022.

It is very similar to Santi Cazorla’s story. At the peak of his powers, the Udinese attacker tore his ACL but then suffered a serious infection during surgery.

The former Watford and Everton star’s mind is still willing, but his body is not. He has been very honest about how the situation has impacted him mentally.

Only he truly knows his own body, but he says he wants to try one more time—and if his knee breaks down again, he will retire.

Santi was saying the same, and he saved his career.

(Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

Carlos Vela

This is the opposite of Diego Costa (see below).

After six years in America, the 35-year-old has played just once since the beginning of 2024.

The Mexican would have to prove his fitness first, though Gooners would be more forgiving due to his time at the club as a teenager.

He was always rated as a natural finisher, either playing in the middle or out wide.

It would be a romantic return, but at least one that would be met with patience.

Why not offer him a trial and let him train with the squad?

Lucas Pérez

It would not be quite the romantic tale. While always respectful about his time in North London, the Spaniard felt he was not given an opportunity and had been slightly misled. Arsène Wenger later apologised to him for the lack of game time.

Not that he has since done much to prove anyone wrong.

Last season, he was playing in the third tier of Spanish football, so he would quite literally only be someone to bring on to give a teammate a rest when winning.

He would have been helping Deportivo in the Segunda División but tore up his contract due to personal reasons.

Believed to be needing to stay close to his family, it has kept him from playing since—so would it be worthwhile for him to return to the Emirates just to make up the numbers?

Probably not.

Ben Yedder

Unlike others on this list, the 34-year-old was not just playing regular football in Europe last season—he was doing so while scoring 20 goals in 33 games.

He is the second-highest goal scorer in Monaco’s history and is regarded as one of the best players to have ever represented the club.

Based purely on football, he would have been offered a new contract and, at the very least, snapped up by someone by now.

However, last year the Frenchman was handed a two-year suspended sentence for sexual assault and drink driving. Any club that employs him will rightly face a backlash from the public.

From a business perspective, the negative PR is not worth a short-term deal—before even factoring in sponsors’ and advertisers’ opinions.

Morally, some Gooners (myself included) would rather we did not win the title than rely on a convicted sex offender.

Diego Costa

Arsenal know they will already be open to ridicule if they sign a free agent, so the deal has to be worth it.

There are Gooners who already feel tired of the perception that our club goes to Stamford Bridge to see what talent Chelsea is willing to discard.

So signing their 36-year-old former striker—who scored just once for Wolves the last time he was in the Premier League—is unlikely to be popular.

If weight and fitness were issues three years ago, they would not have improved now, especially given he struggled to stay fit in Brazil during that period.

Dan Smith