Wenger confirms shortlist of Arsenal January signings

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has now confirmed that he will be doing transfer business during January and that he already has a list of players he would like to sign for the North London club (via Metro).

As the Gunners prepare for their top of the table clash with Manchester City at the Emirates on Monday night, Wenger is well aware that the club is short of players going into the busy holiday period and is prepared to remedy the situation once the transfer market opens for business next month.

“Yes, we are short and the number of games we have to play in January are very important,” he told BeIN Sport as quoted by Metro.

“God knows how we will come out of the Christmas period, with a lot of demand on the physical front so we need to do something.

“I would love to give you names, downstairs on the bar with a coffee but not in front of your camera.”

The general consensus among the fans is that the Frenchman will bring in a holding midfielder as cover for Francis Coquelin, with William Carvalho, Grzegorz Krychowiak and Ruben Neves all thought to be under consideration.

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The other school of thought suggests that Wenger will not go with a strictly defensive midfielder, but an all-rounder as he grooms Calum Chambers for the holding role in the future.

Another certainty appears to be a striker after failing to sign Karim Benzema during the summer, and now hearing that Danny Welbeck has suffered a setback in his recuperation, a seasoned goal scorer seems to be a must.

Two candidates for the role appear to be Dynamo Moscow striker Aleksandr Kokorin and Celta Vigo star Nolito after the Gunners reportedly sent scouts to watch the pair play (via Express).

So now we know that Wenger will actually look seriously to sign players next month, the question is how many will he will actually sign and who the candidates will be. While Wenger has always expressed his dislike of the January window due to the lack of players available and the premium prices clubs ask for their star assets, but if you consider how much money Premier League sides are going to receive from the new television deal, this January may seem like a bargain basement compared to what could happen in the summer.