He would have topped off a good window for the Gunners.
Despite losing Alexis Sánchez to Manchester United, Arsenal have arguably emerged from this January window in a stronger position than they started it. They’ve brought in Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who combined brilliantly at Borussia Dortmund and should be able to hit the ground running at Arsenal alongside Mesut Özil, who Arsenal tied down to a new long-term contract today.
However, these attacking signings are still arguably papering over cracks. Arsenal are still vulnerable at the back and are in desperate need of a defensive midfielder, as Tuesday’s defeat to Swansea showed.
Arsenal made a late attempt to sign Jonny Evans from West Bromwich Albion, who swiftly rejected the bid. West Brom are deep in the 10-team relegation battle that has engulfed the bottom half of the table and unsurprisingly don’t want to lose their captain and best defender in the last 10 minutes of the transfer window.
Reports are suggesting West Brom rejected an approach from Arsenal for Jonny Evans today.#DeadlineDay latest: https://t.co/goLfhgBh1E #bbcdeadlineday pic.twitter.com/xalTzkKAM4
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) January 31, 2018
Arsenal fans can be happy with the way they’ve ended the window considering the weak position they found themselves in at the start of the month regarding Sánchez and Özil’s contracts, but they have reason to be annoyed at not signing a defensive player.
Evans would have been a good fit for the Gunners. The former Manchester United defender is very comfortable on the ball, good at the basics, two-footed and capable of playing anywhere across a back three. He would have been a very useful player in their chase for top four.
