Arsene Wenger Should Raid Southampton to Solve Arsenal's Midfield Issues

Arsene Wenger’s legend at Arsenal is fraying, just like the temperament of the club’s supporters. Following the New Year’s Day defeat at Southampton one fan was arrested after confronting the Gunners boss in the dugout, as per Jeremy Wilson of the Telegraph, illustrating the sense of disgruntlement—resentment, even—among the club’s fanbase.

Arsenal is in indeed a club in something of an existential crisis. The three-year contract extension signed by Wenger at the end of last season has started to weigh heavy around the club’s neck, with the Gunners’ place in the Premier League’s top four anything but assured.

The 2-0 defeat to Southampton depicted the situation the club finds itself in right now, with Wenger struggling to keep pace with Chelsea and Manchester City at the peak of the Premier League, while also toiling to fend off the challenges of Southampton and West Ham, who are looking to take Arsenal’s place as perennial top-four members.

But the now-open January transfer window could prove pivotal in deterring the course of Arsenal’s season. It gives Wenger the opportunity to correct the mistakes he made in the previous window and shore up glaring deficiencies within his squad.

And the Gunners boss should have his shortlist already drawn up after Thursday’s game.

“It was a bit of a self-inflicted defeat,” explained Wenger, as per Alex Fisher of Goal. “There was much more in this game than a 2-0 defeat. We gave a lot. Their keeper kept them in the game. But we had the lapses of focus in vital areas and we paid for it.”

Two mistakes by Wojciech Szczesny underlined Arsenal’s need to recruit a more reliable goalkeeper, but their failure to control the contest through midfield also illustrated just how desperate the Gunners are for a new unit in the centre of the pitch.

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Of course, injuries have left Wenger somewhat short-handed in the centre of midfield, with Francis Coquelin recalled from a loan at Charlton Athletic to help out. But the point stands that when it comes to dictating and controlling games against a higher calibre of opposition Arsenal remain rather anaemic in midfield.

So perhaps Wenger should look at how his side were out-fought and out-played in midfield by Southampton, and target the players that did so directly. The south coast Saints have only just completed a highly successful rebuilding project having sold a number of key figures in the summer; a task they may have to repeat before too long should their current form continue.

Wenger should test Southampton’s resolution by bidding for either Victor Wanyama, James Ward-Prowse or Morgan Schneiderlin, or all three for that matter, in January. While the latter was suspended for the clash against Arsenal, the former duo possess the natural traits Arsenal are lacking in midfield.

Wanyama, in particular, would give Wenger some much-needed defensive fibre in the centre of the pitch, the kind of which Mathieu Flamini can no longer provide. The set pieces of Ward-Prowse would also be an asset with which Arsenal would certainly benefit from, given their height and presence from free-kicks and corners.

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What’s more, all three potential Southampton midfielders would be reasonably affordable, especially when compared to other targets like Arturo Vidal, Paul Pogba or Javi Martinez. Arsenal must be ambitious, yet realistic, in the January transfer window.

A failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League could be disastrous for Arsenal, given how much of a draw the guarantee of top-tier European football is to potential signings. Unlike Manchester United, the Gunners lack the financial muscle to attract elite targets without it.

This is why Arsenal must use the January transfer window, to ensure that they don't miss out on Champions League qualification. Southampton would most likely demand top-end prices for each of their three star midfielders, given how hard it would hit their own top-four challenge.

But if Arsenal are serious about finding a solution to their midfield problems, it was right in front of them on New Year’s Day.