DONE DEAL – Arsenal confirms the signing of another Full-back after reaching full agreement with European Giants as the final deal made permanent, medicals scheduled, player on his way to London

Arsenal may decide to delay this month’s full-back signing in favor of signing Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong in the summer, according to reports circulating in Germany.

Given their recent struggles, which have caused them to fall to fourth place in the Premier League standings, Gunners manager Mikel Arteta is keen to strengthen his squad during the January transfer window.

To expand his options at full-back, Arteta also wants to bring in a new striker and central midfielder.

Summer signing Jurrien Timber’s season plans were shattered when he was forced to leave Arsenal’s opening game of the season, the Community Shield, due to an ACL knee injury that keeps him sidelined.

Oleksandr Zinchenko’s calf injury kept him out of the team’s New Year’s Eve loss to Fulham, and Takehiro Tomiyasu is currently in Japan for the Asian Cup.

This has made Arsenal’s need for a new full-back greater, but Arteta isn’t going to rush into acquiring someone just to make a purchase; in fact, he might hold off until the summer to sign his ideal candidate.

That player is Frimpong, who, according to the German newspaper Bild, is a star player for Leverkusen and has established himself as one of the best attacking full-backs in European football.

The 23-year-old, who plays defense in the Bundesliga, has scored five goals and given up six assists this season, translating to a goal every 120 minutes.

He does not fit the profile of the full-back Arteta usually chooses, as he is a more traditional wing-back who tears up the flank rather than dropping in and offering vital support as an extra midfielder, as Zinchenko and Ben White so often do.

But Frimpong’s contract has a relatively low €40 million (£34 million) release clause, and Arsenal is aware of this because of how highly they regard Frimpong.

Even though Leverkusen and Frimpong are totally committed to breaking Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga record, neither team is thinking about making a January transfer because that clause only becomes active in the summer.

In addition to Frimpong, Arsenal is also interested in Ajax teenager Jorrel Hato, a Dutch defender.

The 17-year-old, who is a left-footed version of Timber, is thought to be the ideal partner for the player who is having a breakthrough year in Amsterdam. Both left and center back are positions he can play.

But Hato won’t come cheap, especially in January, and Arsenal’s limited spending this month will likely be used to acquire a new striker.