Alexander Isak to Arsenal? Gunners fans warned they won't sign new striker in January as Premier League-winning ex-defender explains exactly what's holding them back

The Gunners are, having narrowly missed out on the Premier League title in back-to-back campaigns, considered to be in the market for more firepower. Mikel Arteta is supposedly eager to bolster an attacking unit that currently includes Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.

There has been talk of a big-money raid being launched on domestic rivals Newcastle for prolific Sweden international Isak. He is, however, said to come with a nine-figure price tag and Winterburn doubts that amount will be spent midway through the 2024-25 campaign.

The legendary title-winning former Arsenal left-back, speaking in association with William Hill, told GOAL when asked if Emirates Stadium will soon welcome another goalscorer through its doors: “I don’t think that is going to happen this season. I don’t see it happening in January. There is always a massive debate: Would I like to see an out-and-out goalscorer at Arsenal? Probably, yes. But then I want to be greedy and say only if it fits into the formation of what the team are trying to achieve.

“We all just jump on the bandwagon and go ‘if you get a goalscorer, you are going to pick up significantly more points’. Actually, we don’t know that and are guessing. We believe it would help. It’s a difficult one. If they are going to look at something like that, it is going to be for next season. We’ll see.”

Winterburn is not convinced that Arsenal need another No.9 at present, with it more important for them to return walking wounded to the field. He added: “I think Arsenal’s problem at the moment is the fact they have picked up so many injuries. What those injuries do is give you a lesser opportunity to, what you call in the modern game, affect the game from the bench. With the amount of substitutions you can now use, that is as important as your starting XI.

“With Arsenal we are seeing that they re-strengthened defensively in the summer, yet all of the problems have really been defensive. People say [Martin] Odegaard was out, yes he was, now [Bukayo] Saka’s out and those two are key players as well, but it’s still stretched. Partey has had to move around for a lot of games to right-back, when he has been influential in midfield. You are always tinkering with your squad and your formation. I think that bit of stability moves away. It’s going to be debated not just among Arsenal supporters but everybody until the day that Arsenal do buy what they class as a big striker. Whether that is going to happen or not, I have no idea.”

Arsenal sit second in the Premier League table a matter of days into 2025, with a six-point gap separating them from leaders Liverpool. A north London derby date with Tottenham is next on their top-flight agenda, but only after an FA Cup third-round clash with old adversaries Manchester United has been taken in.