Arsene Wenger forced to make emergency January signings
Arsene Wenger has some serious defensive worries to deal with in the coming weeks. Injury problems have left the Arsenal manager with just two recognised defenders to choose from, forcing him to consider buying a centre-back in the January transfer window.
A long-term injury to Thomas Vermaelen had already depleted Arsenal’s strength at the back. Now, Wenger will be forced to deal with the absence of Sebastien Squillaci after the defender suffered a hamstring injury during Saturday’s FA Cup tie against Leeds.
The Arsenal manager was forced to bring Spanish teenager Ignasi Miquel into the squad for Saturday’s match. Arsene Wenger had earlier stated that he had no plans of spending any cash in the January transfer window, despite the fact that funds were available
to him. But now that he finds his defensive line severely depleted, he may be forced to reconsider his stance.
If Squillaci’s injury turns out to be serious, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Johan-Djourou-c18779 will be the only first team defenders available to Wenger for the next few matches. The Frenchman acknowledges his predicament, saying, “If we only have two centre-backs then
that cannot work with the number of centre-backs we have. If Squillaci has a problem then we must quickly go out for a player.”
Arsenal have been linked to Bolton Wanderers’ http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Per-Mertesacker-c29680. The Gunners tried to sign Mertesacker last season; however, they were turned down.
Last summer, Arsene Wenger sought to bring Everton’s http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Phil-Jagielka-c29902 to the Emirates to bolster their defensive options. Perhaps he might try again in January.
The Arsenal manager is waiting on reports about Sebastien Squillaci’s injury to make a decision. Though http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Thomas-Vermaelen-c35002 has returned to training, he has not fully recovered from his injury. The defender is still feeling pain in his Achilles, and it is still
unknown when he will be able to return to action.
For now, Arsene Wenger is faced with the prospect of going into Wednesday’s Carling Cup tie against Ipswich with only two recognised defenders. Perhaps we might just see a new face at the Emirates Stadium before the transfer window closes.
Tags: