It's been a turbulent week for Arsenal, with the Premier League outfit dumped out of the Carabao Cup by minnows Fleetwood Town on Tuesday evening. Now, the Gunners may have another headache with a potential January transfer supposedly ruled out.

Despite a difficult few days, Mikel Arteta will not be panicking just yet. His Arsenal side sit second in the Premier League, level on points with Manchester City ahead of this weekend's tricky trip to Liverpool.

The Gunners have won seven of their eight top flight outings so far this term, but have been edging victories. Arsenal have scored just 13 goals compared to Man City's 20 and third-placed Brighton's 23. One player who could be recruited for extra attacking flair in January is Atletico Madrid man Alex Baena.

Arsenal handed Alex Baena blow

GIVEMESPORT carried reports last week that Arsenal were tracking a move for Baena in the January window. The Gunners had been linked with the 25-year-old in the summer, after the Spaniard dazzled at the World Cup. Reports of Arsenal interest date back to 2024, when Baena made the £45million move from Villarreal to Atletico.

Despite signing Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge, Arteta was keen for Arsenal to bring in another wide player following the departures of Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli. Moves for Morgan Rogers and Vinicius Junior both failed.

Bukayo Saka continues to battle injury niggles while Eberechi Eze has fallen out of favour and Max Dowman reminded fans this week with a red card that he is still an inexperienced 16-year-old.

A move for a winger in January seems inevitable, but Football Insider now reports that Baena will not be sold by Atletico Madrid in the winter window. Any moves for the player will be blocked.

It's claimed that Diego Simeone will not allow such an important player to leave the club halfway through the season - the manager has described the winger as 'extraordinary' and a 'difference maker' in recent weeks. Baena has featured in every La Liga match so far this season, with five goals and two assists in 10 outings.

The player is under contract at Atletico Madrid until 2030, which puts the La Liga giants in a strong negotiating position both in January and next summer, should Arsenal interest persist throughout the 2025/26 campaign.

Alex Baena stats 2025/26 :

• Appearances: 10
• Goals: 5
• Assists: 2
• Minutes played: 618
• Chances created: 24
• Shots: 22 (10 on target)
• Successful dribbles: 3/14

Eberechi Eze set to start vs Liverpool

With both Saka and Tzolis injured for this weekend's trip to Liverpool, Arteta is set to hand Eze a third start in a row on the flank. The former Crystal Palace man is yet to score or assist in the Premier League this season, but does have two goals in the Champions League.

Speaking about the players available to Arteta this week, Arsenal legend Thierry Henry said:

"This is why you have a strong squad. Mikel Arteta knows that some players will be missing, some will get injured, and then others will have their time.

"When they have a chance to show what they can do, they need to show it, and Eze and Madueke have been showing it. Eze scored against Bayern, Madueke came on and scored against Nottingham Forest, so they are having an impact."

What future Eze has at Arsenal could depend on how he steps in to deputise for injured players in the coming weeks. Arteta has said this season that the player must 'earn the right to play' but backed his 'phenomenal' attitude.

A visit to Anfield is not an easy stage on which to prove critics wrong, but Eze has enjoyed success on Merseyside in the past, scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win for Crystal Palace in April 2024.