The January transfer window has opened up and for most it seems to be a nuisance as supposedly bigger clubs attempt to poach their players and simultaneously disrupt the flow of their season. Other more optimistically minded fans, and clubs see it as an opportunity to boost their team's chances of reaching the season's target by supplementing the squad with extra quality, though of course, investment at this stage can often be a detriment to stability. The biggest danger in the winter window is buying duds at extortionate prices as selling clubs know that the short amount of time to secure deals works in their favour (hence the inevitable flurry of activity at the very tail-end of the window.) Naturally, the Premier League's clubs will have to weigh up whether they should be investing, in search of a push for the title, or for European competition, over the possibility of wasting money and disrupting the team. For every Luis Suarez signed, there's an Andy Carroll limping around in the background. Is there any point in getting involved the market at all for the top 7 sides? With those concerns in mind, here we're looking at some of the teams at the top of the table and whether they need to do business.
7. Arsenal
For Arsenal at the minute, the glaring problem seems to be up front. Rumoured target Diego Costa would be a great choice given his form and stature, and he'd surely adapt to the league quickly. The man currently up front, Olivier Giroud, hasn't been the most prolific despite his early season form, and he only recently broke a drought against Newcastle. As the season goes on, given the plethora of games and competitions still to play, Arsenal will need another prolific striker if they want to push on with their title bid. Back in December, Wenger himself claimed Arsenal do not need to delve into the market (according to the Star) as he points to the return to fitness of Lukas Podolski, but the season ending injury to Theo Walcott might well have seriously changed his thinking now, and more recent stories have suggested that the Frenchman is targeting a new striker, even before the injury. The goalkeeping position has been under scrutiny for some time but Wojciech Szczesny has been impressive this season and that can be left for review in the summer. Meanwhile, the midfield is Arsenal's strength, so persistent rumours concerning Yohan Cabaye might well be unfounded. Virtually every player in there seems to have play making abilities about them and with the added robustness of Mathieu Flamini they should be fine for the season.
