Arsenal fans must pinch themselves every time they look at the table.
The Gunners are five points clear of defending champions Manchester City at the top of the Premier League and have a chance of ending their 19-year wait for a title in May. Yet they still have 24 fixtures to fulfil before the 2022/23 campaign draws to a close.
Manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu must decide on whether to stick with their current squad or try to bring in fresh talent in the January transfer window. If they go for the latter, who could they sign? Here are the latest rumours from the Emirates.
Tielemans transfer in doubt
Arteta has 'reservations' about signing Leicester midfielder Youri Tielemans, according to transfer guru Dean Jones.
Tielemans, 25, has been linked with Arsenal for a while after impressing with the Foxes. The Belgium international has played 175 games for Leicester since arriving - initially on loan - from Monaco in January 2019 to help them win the FA Cup and Community Shield.
Tielemans is out of contract in June and it's unclear whether he will commit his future to the club. Speaking to Give Me Sport, Jones claims Arteta reservations about signing the midfielder and that's why he wasn't snapped up by the Gunners in the summer.
Image:
Getty Images)Fellow journalist Ben Jacobs has also told Give Me Sport that Tielemans wants to join Arsenal, yet their apparent hesitancy could leave the door open for Leicester to broker a new deal. Brendan Rodgers has made no secret of his desire to keep the player.
Rodgers told reporters earlier this month: "He has been a fantastic professional for us, even though he is in the situation with his contract... he is wonderful to work with. I’d love him to sign another deal and continue his journey at Leicester, but we’ll see."
Frankfurt pair urged to reject Gunners
Eintracht Frankfurt stars Jesper Lindstrom and Evan Ndicka have been advised to stay with the Bundesliga outfit and reject Arsenal.
As reported by Bild, the Gunners are interested in signing the pair in January. Playmaker Lindstrom, 22, has scored eight goals and provided two assists this season, while defender Ndicka, 23, was named in the Bundesliga Team of the Season last time out.
Lindstrom and Ndicka were both involved in Frankfurt's Europa League-winning campaign and could be on the move soon, yet former Frankfurt boss Dragoslav Stepanovic wants them to stay. "It doesn’t matter where you go as a top Eintracht player," he told Bild.
"You have to fight for everything anew. A well-functioning team lifts every single player higher. That leads many to believe that they are better than they really are. Think carefully about when you’re really ready to switch to a bigger club."
Mudryk drops another transfer hint
Image:
Getty Images)Mykhaylo Mudryk has again made his feelings known about joining Arsenal.
The Gunners are reportedly interested in signing Mudryk, 21, in the near future and his stock has risen after a stellar start to the season. The winger has scored 10 goals and provided eight assists for Shakhtar Donetsk to make Europe's biggest clubs take notice.
Arsenal's hopes of signing Mudryk suffered a blow when a Shakhtar chief claimed they wanted £85m for him, which is the same amount Manchester United paid Ajax for Antony. Yet they've now been handed a boost thanks to controversial fan channel AFTV.
The channel formerly known as "Arsenal Fan TV" posted a photo flirting with the idea of signing Mudryk on Instagram. The Ukraine international has liked the post, which suggests he's open to the idea of the transfer. It's also not the first time Mudryk has done this.
It's believed Shakhtar could be tempted by a £40m offer in January, despite recent comments from club chiefs. Mudryk has admitted: "I treat the championship of Ukraine with all respect, but every football player has a dream to play in a top club and in a top championship. I am no exception."