Alexis Sanchez could return for Arsenal against Stoke on Sunday
Alexis Sanchez will miss Wednesday night's clash with Liverpool as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury.
The Chilean has been out since the end of November and two scheduled returns have been postponed.
And Arsene Wenger admitted he is being more cautious with Sanchez.
“Liverpool will come too soon for Alexis Sanchez but he may be back for Stoke,” Wenger said.
“He’s always keen to play but if you listen to Alexis, he’s always keen to play even when injured.
“We try to be cautious, but with a muscular injury you never know how big the risk is. But he’s very very close.”
January will be an active month of transfers, according to Wenger.
It has been a relatively quiet month so far but the Frenchman predicts will hot up soon.
He said: “Everybody will go into the market,” he said. “At the bottom and at the top everybody feels responsibility to do something because it is tight and improving your squad could make a big difference.
“That is especially true at the bottom, with the new TV deal coming in, teams who fear going down don’t want to be seen to be doing nothing. In the past you have seen teams can be successful after going into the market in January.
Alexis Sanchez - Spotlight on
“So I would say for the media you could have some good news this January transfer window as I believe many clubs will be active.
“You go from the clubs down in the table to the top. My prediction is that it could be one of the most active January windows you have seen.”
Mohamed Elneny's transfer to Arsenal is being held up by Home Office approval, leaving Wenger less than convinced of a prompt conclusion.
“As long as it’s not definitely signed you have to be cautious, but I’m optimistic,” Wenger said.
“The situation should be sorted out. There’s a lot of work permit problems and special paperwork to do and the visa. We hope to finalise it this week.
“I think this week it can happen, we are positive.”
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