Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes that Luis Suarez will shun rumoured interest from some of European football’s biggest sides to pen a new contract at Anfield.
The Uruguayan hit-man was expected to leave Merseyside over the summer after openly chasing a switch to Real Madrid.
Despite citing a lack of Champions League football and media treatment as reasons that he could not stay with the Reds, the club held firm to keep the controversial forward.
He has since made an excellent start to the season, netting 17 goals in 11 games, and appears to be enjoying life with Liverpool once again.
Rodgers’ side are expected to offer him a bumper contract to extend his stay at the club in the coming weeks and end mounting speculation of a January move, and the Northern Irishman believes the 26-year-old will sign:
“I’ve got every confidence that that will be the case.” He told the Liverpool Echo when asked if his thinks Suarez will extend his deal.
“He and I talk about the present. We speak about the improvements in his game and how he can become better in the future.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt. I think he himself feels he’s progressed here as a player.
“No matter how good you are and whether you’re 26 or 32, like Steven Gerrard was when I came in here, if you want to become a better player and feel you are improving and see the club progressing, then you are happy.
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“And at this moment in time I don’t think he can be any happier. I think he is at the happiest point he has been.
“He is a player we want to keep here and build the team around over the coming years. I just think he is in a good place and long may it continue.”
Southampton midfielder Adam Lallana is hopeful that he can maintain his spot in Roy Hodgson’s England squad following his debut last week.
The playmaker secured two caps in during the Three Lions’ defeats to Chile and Germany, and was one of the only rays of light in an otherwise disappointing few days for the national team.
Lallana was a surprise call-up by Hodgson, who has been impressed by his start to the season with the high-flying Saints.
Despite being a new name in the squad, rumours that he could make the final 23 for the World Cup next summer have already kicked into gear.
Lallana is desperate to make the trip to South America, and says that he will be doing his utmost to maintain a spot in the England set-up.
“Playing in the two games has given me even more drive to go back and perform week in week out with Southampton because I’m desperate to be in the next squad and get to Brazil,” he told The Mirror.
“Playing at Wembley for England is something I have always dreamed of.
“The hairs on the back of my neck stood up when I walked out in front of a packed crowd. To get two caps at Wembley against tough opposition is a proud moment for me and my family but I don’t want that to be it. I want more.
“It’s a step up in quality, but it’s where I want to be.
“International football is the pinnacle, it’s where the best football is played and this experience makes me hungry for more.”
Lallana’s versatility may work to his advantage when Hodgson comes to select his final squad, with the 25-year-old able to operate on either flank or just behind the main striker in a 4-2-3-1 system.
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Does Adam Lallana have a chance of making the World Cup squad?
Ravel Morrison’s career could have gone south. By this point, despite only being 20, he could have taken a path that saw him well way from the game.
It says a lot about him that even with all the talent to become one of England’s best in this new wave, Alex Ferguson and Manchester United chose to move him on when they did. Despite the similarities with Paul Pogba’s issue over a new contract at Old Trafford and the events that led to his move to Juventus, both cases are not identical.
The player should, in a way then, feel grateful to West Ham for taking him on. Even though at the time of his arrival at Upton Park the club were in the Championship, it represented a second chance for a youngster who had a string of disciplinary problems.
West Ham are well within their right to report Fulham for what they believe to be “tapping up” in their pursuit of Morrison. West Ham have reportedly rejected a £6 million bid, but they won’t be comforted by word from Fulham boss Rene Meulensteen that he’s known the midfielder for a long time and that he wanted to join up with him at Craven Cottage.
For West Ham, somewhere in the mind there will be an acceptance that one day Morrison will move on. Now that he’s seemingly been put back on course and reapplied himself to the game, his talent is evident, as well as his ability at the highest level. It would only be natural if an offer from a bigger club eventually came in. From the player’s standpoint, he should be mindful that West Ham is the club who gave him the opportunity for his talents to be showcased in the top flight.
But that’s not the case with Fulham. The club will need an extremely strong effort and a bit of luck to avoid relegation this season, and yet according to Meulensteen, Morrison is more than keen to join. It’s a sideways move for the youngster if anything, possibly motivated by the promise of increased wages. Fulham will be doing all they can to prise Morrison away from West Ham, but it would be more than understandable if Sam Allardyce were to be disappointed in the player’s apparent role in this.
What is unfortunate is that West Ham’s complaint will likely fall on deaf ears. They’re not the first club to complain about tapping up, and yet despite it being an act outside the laws of the game, it’s common.
With Allardyce in a battle to keep West Ham in the Premier League, the last thing he needed was the club’s current top scorer to seek a move away. As is being reported, if a bid comes in for £10 million, the Hammers will have to triple Morrison’s wages if they’re to keep him. Therefore, selling for £10 million is said to be what West Ham have settled on – an issue they knew they’d have to face sooner or later.
The disappointment is the manner in which the potential move is taking place. Faith was placed into Morrison in 2012 by West Ham, and during these final few months of the season, they’d have been looking to him to inspire the club permanently out of the relegation zone.
He had his own statue in the grounds, and a stand in his name. He won 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups and two Champions League trophies. He won the Cup Winners Cup, the Super Cup and the Club World Cup.
David Moyes had won the Second Division with Preston North End in 2000.
Succeeding Ferguson was never going to be easy, but the Scot may have left his successor with a harder job than necessary.
Ferguson’s final years at Man United may be characterised by myopia. Long-term stability was sacrificed for short-term success. He was done with building. He’d built a club. Now he wanted to have some fun.
It was the summer of 2012. Manchester United had just lost out on the title on goal difference, with Wayne Rooney scoring 27 league goals along the way. The team was crying out for a central midfielder. Never mind replacing Paul Scholes, Man United still hadn’t found a successor for Roy Keane.
But Ferguson opted to spend £24m on a 29-year-old striker from Arsenal. A very good 29-year-old striker, but an injury prone player with no sell-on value and high wage demands.
The result was one last sweet title for Ferguson, but one massive headache for Moyes. The Rooney and Van Persie conundrum aside, Moyes also inherited a starting back four that included three players of 32 or over, a starting right-back who was a liability and no left-winger deserved of a starting place.
But even so, the squad is of good enough quality to be higher than the 7th place that they currently occupy.
However, if we are to blame Ferguson for Manchester United’s demise this season, should we be praising David Moyes for Everton’s success?
David Moyes managed Everton for 11 years. He built a stable structure at the club while working with a lot less money than other managers around him. No one worried about Everton with Moyes. The only thing they worried about was what they’d do when he eventually left.
But apparently such concerns were idle, as Everton under Roberto Martinez appear to have moved onto another level. With four games left to play, the Toffees have Champions League football in their sights, and recently comprehensively defeated their rivals for this position 3-0.
Many have pointed to the strong defensive structure and solid scouting policy under Moyes as reasons for the Scot to take credit from Martinez’ success. And while these areas were undoubtedly strong, both have changed significantly under Martinez.
Moyes left behind a solid back five in Howard, Baines, Distin, Jagielka and Coleman. And while Martinez hasn’t made a changes to personal barring injury, he has changed the manner in which the team defend.
Under Martinez, Everton defend much higher and try to win the ball back further up the pitch. Sylvain Distin in particular has excelled in this role, having one of his best seasons at the club while sweeping up in between defence and keeper.
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Roberto Martinez has also benefitted from the strong squad that Moyes left behind, with players such as Mirallas, Naismith and Pienaar all impressing under the Spaniard.
However, the former Wigan manager has made quite a few changes to a squad that didn’t seem in need of overhaul, most notably by bringing in Lukaku, McCarthy, Barry and Deulofeu. These players have had a major impact at the club this season, and Everton certainly look like a Roberto Martinez’s team from the midfield on.
The truth, as it often does, probably lies somewhere in the middle. While Ferguson has certainly had a part in Man United’s poor season, he left David Moyes a squad that was better than the 7th place which he’s steered it to.
Similarly, while Moyes left a strong structure in place at Everton, it would be unfair on Martinez to give Moyes the credit for their success this season. Roberto Martinez has changed a lot in his first year at Everton, and often to positive effect.
The captain’s armband looked out of place at first, Arjen Robben taking over for the suspended Robin van Persie in Holland’s win over Chile on Monday night. But there’s a completion about Robben now, one that made the captaincy fitting at this stage of his career.
Robben has been one of this World Cup’s best performers. It was always to be expected considering his talent, but he’s been one of the standout players while also shouldering the responsibility of helping to lead a relatively young and inexperienced team through the tournament.
It’s a far cry from what we saw from the Bayern Munich winger two years ago at the European Championship, storming off after being substituted in a game against Germany, choosing to walk round the pitch and past his supporters rather than crossing the field, as is customary.
In a way that incident became something of a turning point for the Dutchman. His quality as a player is well-known, but so too is his reputation for selfishness and petulance.
There were questions raised about Robben’s character in big games, having lost in the final of World Cup 2010 to Spain after having a chance to seal the win for Holland. Against Chelsea in the Champions League final, he missed a penalty awarded to Bayern during extra-time, forcing a shoot-out, which the Bavarians lost.
Another issue many in the football community have with Robben is the ease with which he goes to ground, particularly in the opposition penalty area. Arsene Wenger for one wasn’t fooled by the Dutchman, with both having an exchange of words during Bayern’s 2-0 win over Arsenal at the Emirates last season.
But this World Cup has been another impressive step forward for Robben. Few are accustomed to seeing the winger line up as a centre-forward, as he did against Spain and Australia. He doesn’t exactly fit the criteria, importantly being extremely reliant on his left foot, while he doesn’t have the physical stature normally associated with modern centre-forwards.
But it was a success for Louis van Gaal, deploying Robben alongside Robin van Persie as a means to exploit space behind opposition defences and maximise on the creativity of both van Persie and Wesley Sneijder. Three goals across both of Holland’s opening games suggests there could be a future for Robben in that role.
Where Robben was once wasteful in major finals, he’s now been a vital part of Bayern’s successes over the past two seasons. Against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final in London, he scored the winner in the 89th minute. In the German Cup final against the same opposition this past season, he scored the first of Bayern’s two goals, as they completed the domestic double in Pep Guardiola’s first season in charge.
And the former Barcelona coach has held Robben in high regard for much of the campaign, with Guardiola talking up his love for the Dutchman and citing his professionalism through the season.
Louis van Gaal will naturally be contemplating a bid for the Bayern winger when he takes on domestic coaching duties later this summer, and it would be more than understandable for Manchester United fans to want to see the incredibly in-form Dutchman arrive at Old Trafford during this transfer window.
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But this is a player who looks to be defying his age, playing some of the best football of his career. The pace hasn’t gone and he’s learning new tricks by adapting to different positions on the field.
For Holland, the one-two punch of Robben and van Persie is the appropriate response to the disaster of Euro 2012 and the criticism levelled at the Dutch for their performance against Spain in South Africa.
Alex Song is already settling in nicely at West Ham – or at least in the side not managed by Sam Allardyce.
West Ham hit the headlines on Thursday evening for a wonderful ‘tika-taka’ goal – yes, really. It may have only have been the club’s reserves but the Cameroon international only signed for the Hammers last week and the early signs suggest he is fitting in just fine.
When I heard that West Ham were linked with Song I was surprised and then even more so when I heard they were ‘leading the race’ for his signature. Before I knew it he was being revealed to the Upton Park crowd before their dismal 3-1 home defeat to Southampton last weekend. My surprise came from the simple fact that West Ham don’t sign players from teams like Barcelona – simple as that. Barca bought him for £15m just two seasons ago, and it clearly hasn’t worked out. In those two years Alex made 39 appearances in La Liga including 20 in Barcelona’s 2012/13 title winning season.
Alex is still just 26-years-old, and therefore pretty much entering his best years. Yet he’s been deemed surplus to requirements at Barcelona and he subsequently decided to join West Ham – why?!
In my mind there isn’t much to attract signings like Alex Song to West Ham at the moment. Sam Allardyce doesn’t play the best football, we all know that, and although it’s certainly improving of late, they are no Barcelona or Arsenal. Perhaps the powers that be at West Ham are moulding the squad into their vision of improving the quality of football, and sticking a man into the midfield who likely hasn’t played a game without dominating possession since 2007 is a start.
Song claimed he turned down offers from clubs with Champions League football to sign with The Hammers, where his cousin Rigobert played for a short time back in the late 1990s. How David Sullivan, David Gold and Sam Allardyce managed to convince him to join the East End outfit is beyond me, but he has claimed that he feels West Ham are growing in stature ahead of their move to the Olympic Stadium and he wanted to play a part in that process. You can’t deny the club’s ambition moving forward.
So it makes sense for West Ham to sign Song, although it doesn’t make a lot of sense for the man himself. But why were Barcelona happy to shift a man they only signed two years ago on a 5 year contract with a £63m release fee?
The Catalan giants were banned from making transfers, and then were allowed to sign eight players for a combined total of £185m! Still, the embargo is apparently going to have to be abided by from now and it would surely make sense for them to keep back-up players during this period?
It makes me think that perhaps Barca have installed a clause in the loan contract in which they can call him back if needed. I’m sure they’ll get by but the Cameroonian international could still do a job with the Spanish giants, despite them boasting a midfield quota of Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets and ex-Hammer Mascherano.
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I think this transfer can be deemed strange by the player himself – a real ‘coup’ for West Ham – and slightly risky by Barcelona. But still, Hammers fans won’t mind…
With Twitter breaking down the barriers between fans and footballers, we get to know that little bit more about the players we all watch week in, week out.It seems like every top tier star has their own account nowadays, but Wayne Rooney is certainly one of the more high profile players around to have made use of the social media tool, and he’s a quite a good guy to follow.Here are SEVEN things you may not know about ‘Wazza’ which have been revealed by his personal account…[ffc-gallery]
CLICK ON THE MAN HIMSELF TO REVEA
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He loves One Direction…
Who doesn’t right? It appears that although Rooney’s major musical love is the work of Stereophonics, the Liverpudlian actually likes One Direction… Even though he’s not a screaming teenage girl, he’s taken to Twitter to praise the lads for their ‘talent’ and even follows all five of them. Oh, and Rooney follows Justin Bieber, too…
He enjoys a bit of banter…
Football – Manchester United v Norwich City – Barclays Premier League – Old Trafford – 13/14 – 26/4/14Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney (L) and Juan Mata during the warm upMandatory Credit: Action Images / Jason CairnduffEDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your acc
Even though Richard Keys has ruined the term ‘banter’, it’s still funny to see that our idols within the footballing world do like the odd humorous exchange. Rooney tends to get involved with Piers Morgan on a regular basis, and as two of the tweets below show, he’s game for a laugh. Also, the England and United captain responded to rumours of his hair transplant back in 2011, which shows some guts and a willingness to get involved in a bit of ‘micky-taking’.
He’s a fan of Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad has been one of TV’s real phenomenons in recent years, and has been massively popular in the UK – despite never actually making it to our screens across the Atlantic Ocean. As well as Tweeting about the show, Rooney follows stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, as well as the network (HBO) – whom aired the Albuquerque-based hit.
He follows a wannabe Man United star…
Even though he doesn’t actually play football, Usain Bolt has long let it be known that he dreams of appearing for Manchester United. The Jamaican sprinter has dominated his field for some time, and has talked up a possible switch to his other sporting love at some stage. Rooney follows the speedster, and it would be quite the story if they became a strike partnership in the future…
He was caught out by Manchester United’s transfer fails
Football – Germany v Ghana – FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 – Group G – Estadio Castelao, Fortaleza, Brazil – 21/6/14Germany’s Thomas Muller (L), Mesut Ozil, Toni Kroos (2nd R) and Bastian Schweinsteiger (R) before a free kickMandatory Credit: Action Images / Jed LeicesterLivepicEDITORIAL USE ONLY.
Twitter can often be used to work out which player is moving to what club, but Rooney’s account threw out a red herring. The follicly challenged striker follows Toni Kroos, who was one of United’s major transfer targets for the summer.
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The Red Devils missed out on the German – who now plays for Real Madrid – even though some would have hoped that Rooney’s decision to follow the playmaker maybe had some deeper significance.
He’s forgotten about Everton
Football – FA Barclaycard Premiership , Aston Villa v Everton , 22/9/02Everton’s Wayne Rooney appeals to Referee Jeff WinterMandatory Credit:Action Images / Andrew Budd
Some younger football fans may not be aware that Rooney stared his footballing career at Everton. And it seems that the forward himself has forgotten his roots… to an extent. Rooney follows many of his team-mates at international and club level, as well as a host of other companies and figures, but his boyhood club have not made the cut… Bad form, Wayne.
He loves Denzel Washington…
Rooney let his top three films be known on Twitter a while back and also revealed that Denzel Washington is his actor of choice. The hit-man loves the work of the famous 59-year-old, with Man On Fire a favourite. He also enjoys Sister Act 2, making him the only person on earth to publically admit to such an embarrassing fact…
Cesc Fabregas has shown since his return to the Premier League that he is one of the best centre midfielders in the world at the moment – his assist record and play-making ability will go a long way to securing Chelsea some major honours this season.
Arsene Wenger was given the chance to sign the Spaniard back from Barcelona in the summer transfer window as part of a clause which gave the Frenchman first refusal to bid for the player. And Arsene Wenger turned it down. Arsenal didn’t need the midfielder in their ranks after the marquee signing of Mesut Ozil alongside the richness of midfield aces they already had like Carzola, Walcott and Wilshere.
However it stands to reason that you can never have too many world class players in a team if you are looking to push for silverware. A good rotational strength means keeping a quality line-up regardless of which players you decide to play in a game.
Wenger has received a lot of stick in the past for not being willing to spend money on bringing new players to Arsenal in order to compete against some of the other big teams in the country and across Europe, but he broke that mould in recent years with the signings of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, who is proving to be a really good player for the Gunners.
Despite having a decent transfer window, the decision to veto the Cesc transfer is still a boggling one considering how much of a key player the Spaniard was in his original spell in north London and his vital Premiership experience.
No one could have foreseen just how good a start he was going to have in his new life back in the English top flight, however it was clear to see that the player would easily walk in to any of the top teams in England and perform well. Arsene Wenger has always trusted his gut instinct and normally proved a lot of people wrong with certain decisions.
This time around however it seems like the stubborn manager has made a huge mistake in not re-signing his former skipper, not only due to the fact that the guy is clearly in the form of his entire career and enjoying some what of a purple patch for Chelsea, but also because of Arsenal’s present injury woes. Ozil is the latest player to be added to the ever growing injury list for the Gunners – a list which has actually seen them break all sorts of records recently that they would have liked to avoid.
They are down to their bare bones in terms of squad strength now, and despite the imminent return of Theo Walcott, they are looking very thin on the ground and are lacking quality which in Fabragas they would have had. Not only that but even if the the German ace Ozil was still fit to play, the pair of them would have been quite the force in the Arsenal engine room. The combination of these two players’ attacking prowess would have been very difficult for most other clubs to match, therefore tipping the odds balance in their favour a lot more in the race for the title.
The fact that they have such a massive injury list just highlights the mistake Wenger made even more so now as he really is in need of someone in the Fabregas quality bracket to come in and take the team by the scruff of the neck and kick start their title campaign.
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Will this mistake cost them the title? No one player makes a team, but Fabregas could well have made the ultimate difference. In this case it’s hard not to feel that Arsenal’s manager cost them title before the season even began.
If we needed to pick a team that definitely needs to reinforce their squad in January, it would have to be Liverpool.
The Merseyside club finished second place last season but currently find themselves struggling to hold on to 11th.
Despite recieving a hefty profit from the sale of Luis Suarez, the Reds seemed to have gotten their summer transfer dealings all wrong with their current players somehow unable to click with one another.
So, once the window opens, Rodgers will need to work swiftly, but also very carefully. The Liverpool manager would be well advised to consider the merits of signing a few of these Bundesliga stars when January comes:
Timo Horn
//www.youtube.com/embed/BsdhVDbB2y8
Name: Timo Horn
Age: 21
Position: Goalkeeper
Nationality: Germany
Club: FC Cologne
Price: £4 – £7 million
Liverpool have been struggling defensively as of late, and with Brendan Rodgers choosing the drop Simon Mignolet, the battle to become the club’s number one may have begun. Although they are turning to back-up goalkeeper Brad Jones, the club will still be in the market for some extra reinforcements.
The Reds have already declared their interest for Timo Horn but may need to look elsewhere after reports suggest that the Germany starlet is ready to pen a new deal at the club. However, Cologne could be tempted by some sort of swap deal with Mignolet unlikely to be satisfied with sitting on the Anfield bench.
Xherdan Shaqiri
Name: Xherdan Shaqiri
Age: 23
Position: Right Wing
Nationality: Switzerland
Club: Bayern Munich
Price: £13 – £16 million
Xherdan Shaqiri has been a long-term target for Liverpool, and given their form, this could be the perfect time to add some quality into their struggling attack. The 23-year-old could be open to a move due to his lack of playing time with Bayern Munich, and with a starting place at Anfield almost a sure thing, he could finally leave the Bundesliga.
He only made three starts from a possible 16 league games so far this season, mostly being used as a substitute, scoring one and providing another. He was a stand out performer for Switzerland at the World Cup and would be a huge coup for Brendan Rodgers.
Christoph Kramer
Name: Christoph Kramer
Age: 23
Position: Defensive Midfield
Nationality: Germany
Club: Bayer Leverkusen (on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach)
Price: £10 – £15 million
Christoph Kramer is another player Brendan Rodgers should really consider because he needs somebody who can dictate the tempo in the middle of the park. If he is to continue to use Steven Gerrard in a more advanced role, he will need someone like the German international to slot in behind the club skipper.
Signing Kramer would add some stability to the defensive midfield role as he can also move deeper to help out with the club’s very shaky defence. He is currently on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach and has been one of their key players, making 12 appearances so far this season. He was also part of the Germany squad that proved victorious at this summer’s World Cup.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Name: Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Age: 25
Position: Attacking Midfield
Nationality: Armenia
Club: Borussia Dortmund
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Price: £18 million (asking price)
Liverpool should come back and try to lure Henrikh Mkhitaryan to Anfield after seeing their earlier offers beaten by Borussia Dortmund back in 2013. Although he has been a regular feature for the German side, his latest injury setback could eventually make Jurgen Klopp decide to let him leave.
Rodgers should be definitely trying to sign Mkhitaryan as Dortmund’s poor league showing may mean the player is more open to a move Merseyside. However, the Reds should still tread carefully before making a move for the Armenian man as they don’t want to face the same outcome as with that of Nuri Sahin.
Marco Reus
Name: Marco Reus
Age: 25
Position: Left Wing
Nationality: Germany
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Price: £20 – £25 million
Finally, a player that pretty much tops every major European club due to the fact that Borussia Dortmund is in desperate need to sell him or risk losing him for only £20million due to a release clause which will come into effect at the end of the season. If Brendan Rodgers wants to see his side back in the title race, signing Reus should be his top priory.
Although injury prone, when he does feature, he is a huge asset to have as he can both score goals and provide them. Having featured in seven league matches so far this season, the winger has already scored three goals and assisted another two. Liverpool will need to battle a huge number of clubs, all of whom will be trying to sign him for around the region of £25million.
Arsene Wenger believes his Arsenal side are capable of achieving their targets for the season even if the club don’t sign a new centre back in the January transfer window, reports Metro.
Wenger is under pressure to bring a new defender to the Emirates this month, having suffered a host of injuries at the back over the course of the season.
The Frenchman also allowed former captain Thomas Vermaelen to move to Barcelona in the summer, and failed to sign a direct replacement for the Belgian.
Arsenal have been punished with injuries to the likes of Laurent Koscielny and Mathieu Debuchy, however Wenger insists his side will continue to cope even if they fail to bring in some new talent this month.
When asked if the Gunners could cope without signing a defender this month, the Frenchman said: ‘We can, because we have [Calum] Chambers, [Per] Mertesacker, Koscielny.
‘But we have now lost Debuchy, who could play centre-back, Monreal, who can play centre-back, Gibbs as well has been out … of course, if we have another injury or two, we will struggle.
‘It’s risky. It’s too risky. Of course we have made enquiries and then you have a second handicap of who wants to sell their best players, especially a central defender, in the middle of the season. They say: “OK, come back in June or July and maybe yes.”
Arsenal have been linked with a move for West Ham defender Winston Reid this month, but Wenger remained tight-lipped on the prospect of any deal.
“I am not the only one working on the case. It’s not a supermarket where you go in and buy a defender,’ he said.
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‘It’s a market that is very restricted, that players who can strengthen the best 10 teams in Europe, you don’t find many and it’s the same for everybody.
‘We are a big attraction, of course we are, but if it was easy we would do it.’