When the January transfer window opens, a lot, if not all, Arsenal fans want to see Arsene Wenger whip out his cheque out book and strengthen the side. Some will want to see the attack improved, while others will not a bit more solidarity added to both the midfield and defence (I am in this category).
A number of centre-backs have already been linked with a move to Arsenal – Ron Vlaar, Chris Smalling and Virgil van Dijk are but a few names on ‘the list’.
Due to the amount of goals we have leaked already this season, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that this is the area Wenger has to address first before even thinking about a new striker coming on board.
But will the Frenchman do the obvious thing and actually strengthen the back-line during the Christmas period? I don’t think so.
Despite the fans’ cries for a new centre-back to come in after the departure of Thomas Vermaelen to Barcelona over the summer, Wenger hasn’t answered us. Yes he brought in Calum Chambers, but the youngster wasn’t meant to be playing as much as he has been in his debut season, and Wenger knows this himself. Injuries to Laurent Koscielny and most noticeably Mathieu Debuchy, has forced Wenger to dispatch the 19-year-old in some massive games already. And while we will want the Frenchman to bring in an experienced defender to cover Kos (currently having trouble with his Achilles) or Per Mertesacker, Wenger WILL wait for his injured defenders to regain full fitness BEFORE assessing whether to add to his back-line. If this proves to be the case then we can expect to see a very dull transfer window this winter. If he buys, he will do it very late into the window and probably ignore what we (the fans) want.
At the end Wenger will do what Wenger thinks is best, regardless of what others say or think, and that’s a shame.
