Well hello my fellow Gooners. First post in our blog, where do I start… Since there are only 6 days remaining in this years January transfer window, I guess the journey of my blog shall begin with a recap of the transfer window thus far.
In traditional Wenger style, the transfer window is 25 days in and we have seen little to no movement. The arrival of Thierry Henry being the only addition so far, and one that had us all excited and filled with a sense of hope and nostalgia. His first appearance in the 125th anniversary kit against Leeds saw him come on and score the winner for us. Granted, it was a very special and emotional moment for everybody at the time, but a couple of weeks later United come to the Emirates and what do we really have in Henry? Another injured player sitting helplessly on the sideline. To be fair it was only a minor training injury and he will be back for our FA Cup game against Aston Villa on Sunday, but isn’t it just our luck that he couldn’t feature when we really needed his influence. Typical.
So aside from the arrival of the greatest to ever do it, we have seen some other activity, but in the form of departures. Although not technically transfer moves, Gervinho and Chamakh are of course off at the African Cup of Nations, and whilst Chamakh is not sorely missed by any stretch, Gervinho seems to be. We have all seen him miss some seriously frustrating opportunities in front of goal, but it cannot be denied that without him we are lacking in creativity and options up front. The only positive is that our latest wonder boy Oxlade Chamberlain has had more of a chance to shine in Gervinho’s absence, and shone he has, most notably against United last Sunday.
Another departure has been in the form of Frimpong being sent off to Wolves on loan until the end of the season. For me, this is a really good move. Frimpong has shown some real heart and drive in his few performances this season and has looked really promising, but his lack of experience has also been hugely evident. A loan move to Wolves will allow him to get in plenty of experience against premier league sides, without us suffering for his mistakes. 
As far as the rumour mill goes, as expected we are being linked with a lot of names, most of which with no real sources or substance. Over the next few days as the window draws to a close I will write in more detail about the players and rumours with some substance to them, but for now here is just a list (in no order) of majority of the names iv come across throughout January.
- Eden Hazard (winger/striker – Lille)
- Lukas Podolski (striker – FC Cologne)
- Burak Yilmaz (striker – Trabzonspor)
- Luke Shaw
- Jose Mourinho (manager – Real Madrid)
- Hugo Rodallega (striker – Wigan Athletic)
- Jan Vertonghen (defender – Ajax)
- Aiden McGeady (winger – Spartak Moscow)
- Jose Callejon (winger/striker – Real Madrid)
- Neil Taylor (full back – Swansea)
- Alvaro Morata (striker – Real Madrid)
- Wayne Bridge (defender – Manchester City)
- Ravel Morrison (midfielder – Manchester United)
- Marvin Martin (winger – Sochaux)
- Demba Ba (striker – Newcastle)
- William (midfielder – Shakhtar Donetsk)
- Omar El Kaddouri (midfielder – Brescia)
- Yann M’Vila (midfielder – Rennes)
- Moussa Sow (striker – Lille)
- Salomon Kalou (striker – Chelsea)
- Alexandre Pato (striker – AC Milan)
- Leandro Damiao (striker – Internacial)
- Matias Suarez (striker – Anderlecht)
- Oliver Giroud (Montpellier)
- John Guidetti (Feyenoord)
- Eric Abidal (left back – Barcelona)
- Shaqueel Van Persie (full time kid – Van Persie’s son)
And with that – near enough pointless – list, I shall bid you farewell and take my leave.