Arsenal have been told that a "very special" international player could end up joining Mikel Arteta, as he would want to make a move to the Emirates Stadium.

Will Arsenal make January signings?

The north Londoners have been tipped to tackle the January transfer market in search of more options and some strength in depth for their manager. A striker is apparently on the agenda, as Brentford's Ivan Toney and Napoli star Victor Osimhen are reportedly being targeted by Arsenal.

Arsenal have started the season brightly, despite dropping points in two of their opening seven Premier League games. Arteta's side remain unbeaten; tasting victory against Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace, Man United, Everton and, most recently, Bournemouth.

Their draws came against both Fulham and arch rivals Tottenham, who came away from Arsenal turf with something to show after 2-2 draws. Arsenal have been forced to display real grit on more than one occasion, having sealed a lot of their wins by narrow one-goal margins so far this campaign. The Gunners scored more than three goals in a game for the first time last weekend, coming after their 4-0 victory over Bournemouth. Arsenal were at their arguable attacking best that afternoon, with goals from Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard and Ben White sealing a much-needed thrashing.

While they unfortunately fell to Champions League group stage defeat at the hands of Lens in midweek, Arteta and co head into their crunch clash with Man City in good stead. That being said, there may be some glaring holes to fix for Arsenal, especially up front where they're arguably lacking a world-class alternative to Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah. Sporting director Edu is also reportedly keeping an eye on City outcast Kalvin Phillips for the midfield.

Will Kalvin Phillips leave Man City?

The former Leeds United star has found life very difficult at Eastlands since his move there in 2022, only managing a handful of appearances as superstar midfielder Rodri is basically undroppable. Phillips has featured more often in recent games, but that is only down to Rodri being unavailable through suspension.

That being said, the "very special" midfielder has been praised by Pep Guardiola for his contribution, as the England international has done a solid job despite being very out of rhythm. Speaking after Phillips' display against Forest two weeks ago, Guardiola said:

“He played really good today. For the type of game that we needed, defensively and keeping the ball and run, he was amazing. I’m so pleased for him because he’s an incredible guy, never one bad face when he didn’t play the minutes."

Direct free-kicks

Aerial duels

Ball interception

Discipline

Blocking the ball

Tackling

Now, speaking to ESPN, pundit Janusz Michallik thinks the 27-year-old would want to join Arsenal, and "can see" a transfer happening as the player eyes regular game time.

"I mean, yeah, it’s possible if they play together (Rice and Phillips)," said Michallik when asked about Phillips potentially joining Arsenal.

"I wouldn’t say it’s a vote of no confidence in Kai Havertz if he’s going to be there, but Odegaard and Rice pick themselves. If we look at Phillips he’s not a holding midfielder, even though he has had to play there quite often. I can see it. Mikel Arteta comes from Man City and we’ve seen players move to Arsenal in the past, he knows him I suppose even though he wasn’t there at the time, I can see it, I can see why Kalvin Phillips would want to go there."