Arsenal can complete one transfer after deadline thanks to Prem rule | Football | Sport
The transfer window may have closed, but Arsenal still have a brief window to finalise one additional signing. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has been training with the Under-21s in recent months, remains available to be recruited thanks to a Premier League regulation.
The midfielder’s initial cut-off point to find a new club is Thursday, February 5. However, an exemption exists if a side leaves any of its 25 senior squad positions vacant when submitting their roster on February 5, in which case the deadline for registering a player extends to March 26.
Arsenal currently have 21 of their 25 senior spots occupied. Cristhian Mosquera and Myles Lewis-Skelly are registered as u-21s players.
The former Liverpool and Gunners midfielder has been without a club since leaving Besiktas last summer. Hours before Monday’s deadline, Mikel Arteta discussed the possibility of signing Oxlade-Chamberlain as a short-term option.
Arteta acknowledged the club are examining all options, saying: “Of course. I mean, when you lose a big player like this in the squad with four months to go and all the competitions to play for, you need to look.
“We need to do everything that we possibly can, to see if we have a player that is available. And, if we don’t, we keep what we have.
“At this level, especially for four months, you have to be a player that has the capacity to adapt immediately and impact the team.
“That’s not easy. But if it were easy, we wouldn’t be here. So, we need to find solutions and try.”
Oxlade-Chamberlain, who enjoyed a six-year spell at Arsenal from 2011 to 2017, has been working on his fitness levels and even took part in a first-team training session towards the end of January.
In other business, the Gunners successfully secured a double deadline day swoop for Evan Mooney and Jaden Dixon from St Mirren and Stoke City, respectively.
Meanwhile, Louie Copley, Ethan Nwaneri and Will Sweet all departed on temporary deals, whilst Maldini Kacurri, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Osman Kamara left the club permanently.
