Arsenal's most likely January transfer window signing named, and it's not Ayyoub Bouaddi

Arsenal's most likely type of the signing for the January transfer window has been named, and it is not highly-rated Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi.

After splashing out a record £250m in the summer and recording the highest net spend of any Premier League club, Mikel Arteta's table-toppers are expected to do little business on the incomings or outgoings front this month.

The Gunners were inevitably linked with Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo, but Manchester City appear to have won the race to sign the Ghana international, as a £65m deal has been agreed in principle.

Arsenal have little need to enter the market thanks to their significant squad depth, and the fact that Arteta now has a near clean bill of health, with only Max Dowman, Riccardo Calafiori and Cristhian Mosquera sidelined due to injury.

However, speaking exclusively to Sports Mole, Arsenal expert Charles Watts expressed his view that a Rodrigo Mendoza would be the most plausible signing, if there is the threat of a rival club coming in for his signature.

Rodrigo Mendoza-type signing Arsenal's most likely in January

“The Mendoza one goes back to if an opportunity arises, and another club is suddenly going to trigger the release clause, you think we've got to do this now," Watts said.

"If there is going to be a deal done in January, that's the signing that I could maybe see happen. A £50m, £60m, £70m, Semenyo-type deal, I struggle to see it.

“But someone like a Mendoza who has been part of the plans anyway, and the club really believe could be a decent addition, not massively expensive and stops him going to a rival, maybe that's something they would pull the trigger on.”

Mendoza is believed to have a £17.5m release clause in his Elche contract, although Arsenal may have to fend off the threat of Real Madrid to bring the 20-year-old to the Emirates Stadium in January or the summer.

On the other hand, Lille are believed to want around €50m (£43.3m) to sanction Bouaddi's sale, and Les Dogues are under no pressure to lower their asking price given that the 18-year-old's contract runs until 2029.

What would Rodrigo Mendoza bring to Arsenal?

Despite his tender age, Mendoza has already become a regular in the Elche setup and has made 67 appearances for the club in all tournaments, contributing six goals and three assists at senior level.

The Spain Under-21 international has started five La Liga matches this season and made substitute appearances in a further eight, operating as both a number eight and number 10 for the Green-striped ones.

An extremely competent ball-carrier, Mendoza ranks in the top 2% of midfielders in the big five European leagues for successful take-ons over the past 365 days, averaging 1.64 per match.

The 20-year-old also averages over two progressive carries per match - an 88th percentile figure - and 0.68 carries into the penalty area per match, a top 5% statistic.

With all of Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi, Martin Odegaard, Mikel Merino and Christian Norgaard either at or close to their peak, signing Mendoza would future-proof the Arsenal midfield with a progressive, forward-thinking and affordable talent.