Arsenal Transfer News: Gunners Will Regret Not Grabbing Defensive Help

Arsenal are the fifth-highest scoring team in the Barclay's Premier League so far this season. While they don't score at a Manchester clip (City and United), they are directly in line with the two squads ahead of them, Tottenham and Chelsea.

Their problem, however, is giving up goals.

The Gunners are the only club in the top seven of the table to be in the bottom half of the league in goals allowed.

While United, City, Tottenham and (barely) Chelsea play with goals to spare, Arsenal needs every last one of them.

As they continue their push for a top-four spot, the North London club has to find a way to keep the back of their net empty for the long haul.

One way to do that is by grabbing more defensive help in the January transfer window. One particular player who has been linked to Chelsea and was linked to Arsenal this summer is Bolton's Gary Cahill.

Arsenal have money to spend even after manager Arsene Wenger's last-ditch effort to land as many players as possible at the conclusion of the summer transfer window.

The loan move for former superstar Thierry Henry will certainly draw attention, and could even help them score goals, but it won't help the Gunners stop the goals from coming in.

Another direction they could take is the outscoring approach. The North London outfit has been linked with two German stars since the arrival of German national Per Mertesacker this summer, and both Lukas Podolski and Mario Gotze would fit in well.

But there is no telling how quickly they'd fit in with the rest of the side and how long it would take for them to get their bearings coming over from the Bundesliga to the Premier League.

Adding a Premier League defender is still their best option.

Despite all the brilliance Wenger has displayed over this trying period of football at the Emirates, a fifth-place finish in not acceptable. Rather than sitting on money in an effort to make a profit this season, the Gunners need to find themselves another defensive presence to boost their chase for the No. 4 spot.

If they don't spend the money and end up fifth, they won't have to look far to find out why.