Surprise Arsenal transfer confirmed as second January deal lined up in unique Edu plan

Arsenal youngster Mika Biereth has been recalled from his loan at Motherwell despite an impressive first half to the season. It follows a trend for the Gunners this window with very little first team movement in January.

Mikel Arteta has already seen Brazilian forward Marquinhos return to the club having failed to make much of an impact at Nantes in Ligue 1. It is the second temporary move in a row that he has struggled with having been at Norwich after January last year.

The boss is being frustrated in the market though as his side, along with most of the rest of the Premier League, are dealing with the threat of serious punishments if financial rules are broken. After both Everton and Nottingham Forest were charged with a second set of misdoings it has left teams being extremely careful with their spending.

For Arteta it comes at a bad timewith Arsenal trying to turn their mini-slump around having won just one of their last seven games. That change is unlikely to come via any new additions though as football.london understands there is a very real possibility that no incomings are made before the February 1 deadline.

The club are remaining active though and have seemingly spotted a way to enhance Biereth's progression. With six goals and five assists coming in just 14 Scottish League games, even more impressive when considering it is from only 11 starts, he has been a standout player in what is a poor side.

Motherwell are ninth (out of 12) and have won just one of their past 17 games. Biereth's return has come as a surprise to manager Stuart Kettlewell but may well be part of a grander scheme at Arsenal. «It’s a major, major disappointment,» the manager said about the 20-year-old forward. «This was a little bit unexpected.