Arsenal's January midfield loanees

Arsenal VAVEL takes a look at the club's transfer history of loaning in midfielders in the January window as Martin Ødegaard is set to join.

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 12: Kim Kallstrom of Arsenal celebrates scoring in the penalty shoot during the FA Cup Semi-Final match between Wigan Athletic and Arsenal at Wembley Stadium on April 12, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

By Joel Sritharan25 January 2021 13:04 BST

With permanent signings proving to be more difficult in January, many clubs opt to sign players on a short-term loan to solve their problems and Arsenal is not exempt from this.

The club's biggest January loanee would no doubt be Thierry Henry returning to the club in 2012. However, the Gunners have often been left disappointed when loaning midfielders into the club mid-season.

Kim Kallstrom

Kallstrom moved to Arsenal on loan from Spartak Moscow in 2014 on deadline day. During his medical, the doctors discovered a back injury but as it was late in the window, then-manager Arsene Wenger had to go through with the deal.

Due to his rehabilitation, the Swede struggled to make an impact on the side and only managed to make four appearances for the club. One of those games was the FA Cup semi-final against Wigan where he came on as a substitute in extra-time and then scored a penalty in the shootout.

After the season finished, the club chose not to extend his stay, and Kallstrom's time at the club was underwhelming despite winning the FA Cup.

Denis Suarez

Suarez's time at Arsenal was arguably even more disappointing than Kallstroms. He was seen as an exciting prospect due to being a highly rated youngster at Barcelona. The former Manchester City player was also voted Young Player of the Year in 2012 during his time at the club.

However, the Spaniard only made four appearances for the club, accumulating 67 minutes in the Premier League. After this disappointing spell at the club, Suarez moved permanently to Celta Vigo where the 27-year-old has now found his feet.

Martin Ødegaard

Despite only being 22-years-old, it feels Ødegaard has been around forever. He broke onto the scene in 2014 when Real Madrid took a risk in buying the midfielder.

After getting good game time during loan spells at Heerenveen and Vitesse, his time at Real Sociedad was very successful, and was even named in the EA Sports Team of the Season.

The Norweigan international will hope to make an impact during his short time at Arsenal as he looks to replace Mesut Ozil and help Emile Smith-Rowe as a creative midfielder.