Arsenal Transfer Rumors: Gunners Should Give in and Sign Lyon's Aly Cissokho

Arsenal has interest in Lyon left-back Aly Cissokho, but Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is hesitant to go beyond a loan deal for the Ligue 1 star, according to John Cross of Mirror Football. It's a surprising decision by Wenger considering how many injuries the Gunners are dealing with right now.

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Gunners boss Arsene Wenger wants to bring in a left-back on loan and was keen on the 24-year-old French international. However, Lyon have made it clear that they are not willing to do a loan deal–but will sell for £8 million.

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Andre Santos, Kieran Gibbs and Thomas Vermaelen are all battling injuries, which has left some voids to fill along the back line. While Arsenal's defense has actually improved since the season began, it will only be able to hold up for so long without reinforcements.

Cissokho is a stay-at-home left-back with the potential to become a lock-down defender. He's excelled since moving to Lyon and has good pace for the position. That's an important trait to have if a player is moving to the Premier League.

The 24-year-old Frenchman would be well worth the £8 million asking price for Arsenal. Although it's no surprise Wenger has spoke highly of his injured defenders, there is no shortage of bumps during a season and Cissokho would be a nice piece to have at his disposal.

It's not surprising that there's been a lack of movement during the January window so far because teams are much more conservative compared to the summer period.

That's mostly because every team is still working to accomplish something. Whether it's a title or cup chase, earning a European spot for next season or, on the other side of things, attempting to avoid relegation, there's no shortage of things to fight for over the next couple months.

That means Wenger's options at left-back will be relatively limited. He's going to be hard pressed to find a more cost-effective option than Cissokho before the deadline, because the prices will only rise as teams become more desperate to fill pressing needs.

The only way Cissokho would struggle to find playing time would be if the entire defensive corps was healthy, but how often does that actually happen during a season? Rarely.

So, those concerns really shouldn't stop a deal from occurring. Wenger knows he needs to add some depth for the season's second half if Arsenal is going to advance any farther up the table, and Cissokho seems like the perfect fit.

Unless Wenger is able to find a different option quickly, he should complete a deal with Lyon before it's too late.