January transfer window is make-or-break for Mikel Arteta as Arsenal's title hopes threaten to fall apart

Arteta can't be criticised for wanting an upgrade on Aaron Ramsdale, who is error-prone and poor with the ball at his feet, and David Raya looked like the right addition, given how impressively he'd performed at Brentford last season.

However, despite the constant support of his manager, Raya has looked very, very shaky at times this season, and been beaten by shots that never should have got past him. The Spaniard just doesn't inspire confidence and that's a major problem for a back four.

There's no suggestion that Arsenal will look to sign another goalkeeper this month, with Arteta clearly set to stick with Raya, but rather than solving a problem, the manager has unintentionally created one.

Arsenal looked quite well-stocked in this position before the season began, given the impressive versatility of Timber, Ben White, Jakub Kiwior, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Oleksandr Zinchenko.

However, Timber might not return until March, White's form has fluctuated wildly, Kiwior is a liability at left-back, as the Fulham defeat hammered home, Tomiyasu has had his injury issues and is now off to the Asian Cup, while Zinchenko's defensive deficiencies have been repeatedly exposed.

Consequently, many supporters have questioned the wisdom of the decision to allow Kieran Tierney to leave on loan to Real Sociedad, as some still consider him the best left-back on Arsenal's books.

Whether the Scot would have made a major difference to the title tilt, we'll never know, but what's clear is that unless Arsenal dip into the transfer market - or recall Tierney - they're going to have issues on either side of the defence until Timber returns to full fitness.

White, Tomiyasu and Kiwior can all play at centre-back, but it's honestly come as no surprise to hear rumours of Arsenal trying to signing Matthijs de Ligt, given the Dutchman has struggled to lock down a starting spot under Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel.

William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes obviously make for a solid pairing. Indeed, if the former had not missed the end of last season, Arsenal may well have held onto their lead at the top of the Premier League. As it was, the back four capitulated without Saliba, which only underlined Arsenal's fragility without the Frenchman. Another spell on the sidelines really would put paid to their title aspirations.

So, while Timber's return will ultimately give Arteta another excellent option to play alongside Saliba, they look worryingly short on quality at centre-back right now. In that sense, selling Gabriel would appear out of the question, but the Brazilian, who was heavily criticised by Ian Wright for his performance at Fulham, is prone to dropping clangers and if the incessant Saudi Arabian interest in his services materialised into a solid bid, the money made could be put towards a more reliable partner for Saliba.

Rice was touted as the missing link for Arsenal, the kind of player that could propel the club to a first Premier League title since 2004. However, while the England international has made a big impact, he's not proven a game-changer because the make-up of Arteta's midfield is still not right.

Thomas Partey's injury issues obviously haven't helped, even if Arteta was using the Ghanaian as a right-back during the early stages of the season. One imagines that if Partey had stayed fit, he would have eventually been used in his preferred deep-lying, play-making role that would have offered greater protection to the back four, while at the same time allowing Rice serve as the link-man between the midfield and the attack. With that option unavailable, the latter has often been asked to do far too much from a defensive perspective, given he's often got two No.10s (Martin Odegaard and Havertz) for company in the engine room.

Of course, Partey is now poised to return to action, but doubts remain over his future as a mooted move to Saudi Arabia would allow Arsenal to at least partially fund a move for another defensive midfielder. Still, while talk of a move for Fulham's Joao Palhinha makes an awful lot of sense - the Portuguese showed Arteta exactly what he's missing in the middle of the park with a tremendous display at Craven Cottage on New Year's Eve - one wonders whether Arsenal would have sufficient money to make it happen, given it's believed that they'll have to sell before they can buy this winter.

Arsenal do not lack alternatives to Odegaard as their primary attacking midfielder, or wingers Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli - but how many of them are actually good enough to start regularly for a title challenger?

Arteta certainly doesn't seem to have much faith in homegrown duo Emile Smith Rowe or Reiss Nelson anymore, while Leandro Trossard looked uncomfortable out wide while filling in for Martinelli earlier in the season and still looks like nothing more than a good impact sub. Havertz has undeniably improved in recent weeks and chipped in with a couple of important goals, but still goes missing far too often against decent - or even just aggressive - opposition.

Arsenal have also long been aware that they need a proper Saka understudy, but have yet to actually sign one, meaning the 22-year-old - who is by some distance the team's most reliable source of goals and assists - is being run into the ground. Arteta simply has to rotate more - or sign a quality right-winger.

It's obvious where Arsenal's biggest problem lies: up front. The Gunners have scored fewer goals (37) than every other member of the Premier League's top five, as well as seventh-placed Brighton and Newcastle down in ninth.

Admittedly, they've done well to share the goals around, but the fact that Saka is their top scorer, with six, is a damning indictment of the finishing of their forwards. Hwang Hee-chan (10), Joao Pedro, Nicolas Jackson, Chris Wood (all seven), Richarlison and Abdoulaye Doucoure (both six) have all got more league goals this season than Gabriel Jesus (three) and Eddie Nketiah (five).

Jesus has also netted four times in the Champions League, but his 'big chance' conversion rate in all competitions is an abysmal 27 percent, underlining that, at 26, he is still not an elite-level finisher and likely never will be.

Rumours are rife, then, that Arsenal are desperately trying to bring in a clinical centre-forward during the January window. Victor Osimhen is the dream, but the Napoli ace has only just signed a new contract and would not be available for anything less than a nine-figure fee. Elsewhere, Brentford are ready to entertain offers for Ivan Toney, but the word is that the Bees will demand mad money for their star striker (somewhere in the region of £80m), which would likely price the Gunners out of the market unless they raise some cash by offloading Nketiah.

Arsenal, then, are in a serious bind. They've got very real Financial Fair Play (FFP) concerns after last summer's outlay, but this is quite clearly a make-or-break window in terms of their title hopes, and also a pivotal moment in Arteta's tenure. Do they once again back their manager in the transfer market? Or put their faith in him to kick-start their season with the resources presently at his disposal?

Arteta insists that all he wants in January is to continue working with "the players that have taken us all this way in the first half of the season". But Arsenal sticking with what they've got is arguably an even bigger risk than splashing the cash during the notoriously difficult winter window - because, right now, Arteta & Co. are just not good enough to win the Premier League.