Arsene Wenger is not looking to buy in January

According to The Sun, Arsene Wenger is not looking to add any new players to his squad in the January transfer window.

This news comes as a bit of a surprise, especially when considering that Arsenal do not have a healthy right-back or left-back at the moment.

Ignasi Miquel

As of late, the Gunners have been featuring Spanish center-back Ignasi Miquel at left-back.

Miquel has had mixed results at his new position. At times he looks fantastic, while at other times he looks quite vulnerable.

After all, he is a 19-year-old and inconsistency is imminent.

Thomas Vermaelen

Although Miquel has just been tested out at full-back, Thomas Vermaelen is the Gunners starting left-back at the moment.

With Vermaelen’s injury-prone past, I am shocked that Wenger is considering to keep him at left-back for the time being.

It’s not only a poor managerial decision, but it could perhaps come back to haunt him if the Belgian international picks up yet another injury.

In addition, it takes Vermaelen, who is tremendous in the air, out of the heart of Arsenal’s defence.

Johan Djourou

While Miquel and Vermaelen have spent time at left-back, Swiss international John Djourou has logged considerable minutes at right-back.

Again, Arsenal may be able to get away with playing Djourou at right-back against certain Premier League opponents, but they surely won’t have that luxury against the likes of AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League.

In that scenario, Robinho and company will just tear Djourou to shreds.

Every sign seems to be pointing to Wenger bringing in one or two defenders in January, and hopefully for Arsenal supporters, he will.

However, if this report is true and Wenger does not sign any players in January, Arsenal’s quest for UEFA Champions League football next season is surely in jeopardy.

Returning from Injury

Now then, if Barcary Sagna, Kieran Gibbs and Andre Santos are close to returning from injury, you can disregard the need for signing any defenders this month.

We must also consider that Arsene Wenger knows exactly what he’s doing.

There’s no doubt that he has insider knowledge of the injury situation at the Emirates, and perhaps he feels as if Sagna, Gibbs and Santos are almost fully fit.

Thus making no moves would certainly imply that the Sagna, Gibbs and Santos are close to returning to the starting XI, which could just be the boost the Gunners need ahead of their clash with AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League.

I’ve covered a bevy of possible scenarios today, but the bottom line is that if the Gunners can get Bacary Sagna and one of their left-backs to return from injury, they will be just fine.