With Arsenal’s luck when it comes to injury, there is no gain stressing the importance of strengthening the team this January, and that much we all know as Gunners’ fans. The manager has not been able to actually replace Vermaelen, a player that departed the Emirates during the summer; and this has caused the team heavily in terms of giving away cheap goals to the opposition.
We have had to frequently change our back four week in week out in the first twenty games of the season due to injuries to key players. This has not only brought stability to the team. Arsene knows that the back four cannot be rotated or changed as frequently as we have in the first half of the season if we are to make anything meaningful out of this season; and there is an indication that the Frenchman is prepared to delve into the market this window.
When quizzed by the press ahead of the Gunners’ match at the Emirates on Sunday, the boss reiterated his desire to delve into the transfer market to sign a defender before the transfer window closes in another three weeks.
When asked by Amy Lawrence about the possibility of signing a defender this window, Wenger had this to say:
“You cannot guarantee,” Wenger said. “If I give you the names of the clubs who are out with a lot of money to look for defensive players, it’s unbelievable.”
Arsenal fans are already familiar with that line, and so won’t be surprised by the manager’s response. However, the next question as well as the answer all but gave us a clear indication as to what the manager’s transfer plans could be.
Is he confident, though, that a deal of some sort can be struck? “Yes,” he said with the straightest of straight bat expressions.
Tempers are bound to rise should the manager fail in his bid to bring in a defender and possibly sign a defensive midfielder before the window closes. Perhaps, nothing else underlines the need to sign a defender this window more than the injury sustained by Mathieu Debuchy in our match against Stoke City at the Emirates yesterday.