Arsène Wenger has identified central midfield as the area he will look to strengthen when the January transfer window opens. The Arsenal manager has previously promised to add at least one signing and cover in central defence has felt like the priority.
Wenger’s decision to exit the summer transfer window with only five senior defenders in the squad always seemed a risk and it has been exposed by injuries, most seriously to Laurent Koscielny and Mathieu Debuchy. Both have recovered and Wenger has the rare luxury of a fully fit group of defenders for the New Year’s Day trip to Southampton.
It is in midfield where problems have bitten. Wenger will be without Jack Wilshere until March because of ankle ligament damage while he continues to miss Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta because of thigh and ankle injuries respectively. With Abou Diaby also unavailable, Wenger was forced into the stop-gap measure of recalling Francis Coquelin from his loan at Charlton Athletic. Arsenal have been linked with a move for Newcastle’s Moussa Sissoko.
“If you look at the number of games some players played and the injuries we have with Wilshere, Ramsey and Arteta, we are a bit short at the moment in midfield,” Wenger said, when asked to name where he would look to strengthen his squad in January.
He continued to stress that Arsenal would move only if any prospective deal was right. “There is a need there [to enter the market] but the right opportunity has to come up,” Wenger said. “To buy, simply to buy, is not what we want to do but if the right opportunity comes up, we will do it.”
Wenger had said Ramsey had a chance of making the Southampton game but he remains short of fitness, and caution will be the watchword with regard to his comeback. The club are mindful Ramsey missed three months of last season because of a thigh injury. He damaged the muscle in the Champions League win at Galatasaray on 9 December.
Arteta has not played since 26 November because of a calf problem and a related ankle setback. Wenger confirmed he would not feature at Southampton. “There’s no setback with Ramsey but it’s a bit slower than I expected it to be,” Wenger said. “Because he had a setback last year, we have to be very cautious with his thigh – he was out for three months. We have to be a bit more cautious than we would like to be.”