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Arsenal could sign Elche’s Rodrigo Mendoza in January

By on January 6, 2026

Arsenal could reportedly sign Elche CF star Rodrigo Mendoza in January, as per journalist Charles Watts.

The Gunners currently have Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice, Mikel Merino, and Christian Norgaard as options to deploy in the deeper midfield positions.

However, Norgaard has struggled to find regular game time thus far this season after joining from Brentford last summer, failing to start any matches in the Premier League. As a result, Zubimendi has taken on enormous workloads.

The 31-year-old has signed only a two-year contract until 2027, with Arsenal having an option to extend the deal for a further year. So, it appears Mikel Arteta’s side have started exploring options to replace the Dane with a younger player.

On Sports Mole, Watts claims that Arsenal are interested in signing Mendoza to strengthen the engine room and could make a concrete approach this month.

Having splashed big money last summer, the Gunners are unlikely to make a marquee acquisition in mid-season and can only afford to seal cheap deals.

Mendoza is valued at around £13m by Transfermarkt and has a contract until 2028 with Elche. He is a technically gifted box-to-box midfielder by trait.

Mendoza to Arsenal

After spending time with different teams during his youth career, Mendoza joined Elche Academy back in 2019 before making his first team debut in 2022.

After helping Elche gain promotion last season, Mendoza has shown glimpses of his qualities in La Liga thus far this campaign. However, he has been featuring as a rotational option, making three goal contributions in eight starts across all competitions.

He is efficient in playing threading passes between the lines, can make surging runs from deep, and can dribble past opposition defenders in tight areas. He has even been compared to Pedri.

The 20-year-old is a talented player and possesses high potential. Therefore, he might be a shrewd acquisition for the North London club should they purchase him.

However, it is going to be interesting to see whether Arsenal eventually make a concrete approach to secure the Spaniard’s service in January or next summer.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are set to face off against Liverpool in the Premier League on Thursday before facing off against Portsmouth in the FA Cup next weekend.