Arsenal FC: Where the Gunners Could Turn for Help at Defensive Midfield

Arsenal's summer transfer activity has been, in short, uneventful. In fact, aside from the free signing of Yaya Sanogo, it's been nonexistent.

However, Arsenal's squad is ready to challenge for the title, right? The same exact team that finished in fourth place last season is now prepared to end the club's eight-season trophy drought, right?

Wrong. While I'm certainly not in the position to challenge a man with over 20 years of managerial experience, it's clear that there are a number of gaps in the current squad that need to be filled—presumably through the transfer market.

Arsene Wenger's shopping list is long. It includes—roughly—a top-class striker, a centre-back, a goalkeeper and, last but not least, a defensive midfielder.

Since the days of Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva, Arsenal have lacked a true defensive midfield presence. Players have come and gone: Abou Diaby seems to be cut out of the same cloth as Vieira but spends more time on the injury table than he does on the pitch. Alex Song, arguably the man who came closest to filling Vieira's boots, left for Barcelona last summer and, to put it simply, has failed at the Camp Nou.

Although Arsenal certainly aren't short on central midfield options—as Mikel Arteta, Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla and Tomas Rosicky can all attest to—a true defensive midfield "enforcer" still seems to be missing from the books.

Read on for where the Gunners can turn to—including players on the transfer market as well as players in the current squad—for help at defensive midfield.

Marouane Fellaini

Marouane Fellaini would arguably be Arsenal's ideal defensive midfield signing.

Although the Everton man spent the majority of the 2012-13 campaign as a supporting striker—a relatively new position for him—Fellaini admitted to the Daily Mirror that he still sees himself as a defensive midfielder.

While it's difficult to analyze Fellaini's defensive statistics due to him playing out of position, he impressed during the few games that he did play in central midfield this season. Arsenal supporters in particular will remember the Belgian bullying Jack Wilshere out of the Gunners' 0-0 draw with Everton.

Fellaini's blend of technical ability and defensive strength mean he would slot perfectly into Arsenal's midfield—and did I mention the hair?

Unfortunately, the chances of Fellaini signing for Arsenal seem to be slim. The former Standard Liege man was heavily linked with the North London outfit at the beginning of the summer, with Wayne Veysey of Goal.com reporting that Arsenal had activated Fellaini's release clause. The rumors cooled down considerably after that, though, and a deal now looks unlikely.

Etienne Capoue 

A name that Arsenal supporters may remember from past summers is Etienne Capoue of Toulouse.

The defensive midfielder was linked with a move to the Emirates by The Sun back in 2012, as an alternative to Yann M'Vila. Ah, how times have changed since then. While M'Vila now plies his trade for Russian outfit Rubin Kazan and managed to get himself banned from the French national team, Capoue is still a viable option for Arsenal.

As a defensive midfielder, Capoue scored seven goals and grabbed three assists last season, while also averaging 2.4 tackles and 2.6 interceptions per game. Most impressively, though, was the fact that his average of 63.9 passes per game was joint highest in all of Ligue 1.

Arsenal haven't been linked with Capoue in quite some time, but if the Gunners want any chance of signing him, they'll have to act fast—according to Sky Sports, Cardiff City and Toulouse have already agreed a fee for the French international.

Capoue may not be as high profile of a signing as Fellaini would be, but his French nationality and tall stature mean he seems to be—like Abou Diaby—cut out of the same cloth as a certain Patrick Vieira. 

Arsene Wenger might just want to take another look at Capoue before letting him sign for Cardiff.

Lars Bender

Lars Bender is one of the only midfielders in this article who Arsenal have expressed concrete interest in, with Bayer Leverkusen rejecting a bid from the Gunners earlier this summer, according to Dominic Fifield of The Guardian.

Surprisingly, though, Arsenal didn't seem to continue their pursuit of Bender, as no further bids were reported. The 24-year-old is exactly what Arsenal need—a pure defensive midfielder—and he's got the statistics to prove it.

Bender's 4.1 tackles per game was the fourth highest in the Bundesliga last season; his 2.5 interceptions per game are also impressive, while his seven assists in all competitions show that he can provide something going forward as well.

Like Capoue and Fellaini, Arsenal haven't been recently linked with Bender—but should the Gunners go back in the market for a defensive midfielder, the German international would be an excellent option.

Mikel Arteta

Then, of course, there's the likely possibility that Arsenal won't sign a defensive midfielder at all this summer.

And would it really be so bad? Mikel Arteta stepped up to the plate in the absence of Alex Song this season and surprisingly did a phenomenal job. Once a No. 10 at Everton, Arteta has sacrificed himself for the team by adapting to a more defensive role—surprisingly, he's flourished.

Not only is Arteta's 80.9 passes per game the second highest in the world only behind Xavi, but his defensive statistics of 3.2 tackles and 2.9 interceptions per game are impressive too. To put that into perspective, Yaya Toure averages 1.2 tackles and 0.9 interceptions per game.

Mikel Arteta might not be the robust, powerful defensive midfielder that Patrick Vieira was and that Arsenal seem to need, but statistically the Spaniard is doing an excellent job in the middle of the park. Like they say—if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Do Arsenal need a defensive midfielder, and if so, who should they be targeting? Share your opinion in the comments below.

All statistics via WhoScored.com.