Arsenal Transfer News: Arsene Wenger Talks Mesut Ozil Rumours, Expects Signings

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger addressed rumours of a potential Mesut Ozil transfer ahead of Monday's Premier League clash with Liverpool and also confirmed he expects more signings to arrive before the end of the summer window.

Rumours surfaced earlier this week of a shock transfer offer from Besiktas for Ozil, according to former Besiktas board member Erol Kaynar on Turkish radio (h/t Metro). However, per the club's official Twitter account, Wenger is certain the midfielder has his mind on Arsenal and them only:

With the summer transfer window slowly coming to an end, journalists tried to direct the attention of Friday's press conference toward potential signings as much as possible.

The Gunners have had an inconsistent start to the season, losing to West Ham United before narrowly beating Crystal Palace, and fans are understandably keen to find out whether there will be any reinforcements.

As reported by the Daily Mirror's Liam Prenderville, Wenger believes the fact the season has already started complicates matters, although he still expects new players to arrive:

"

When the season starts the window should be finished. Simple as that. It is too big an advantage for clubs that didn’t work well during the transfer window.

The funds are there, people know that you have the resources, but the players are not available. We expect, like you, but at the moment, we are not close.

"

The two positions that are most often mentioned as areas of need by the fans are holding midfielder, where there is little depth behind Francis Coquelin, and striker, where perhaps the club could use an upgrade on Olivier Giroud.

Sevilla's Grzegorz Krychowiak is seen as a potential target for the Gunners, with team-mate Vicente Iborra telling Estadio Deportivo (h/t ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan) he fears a club may activate his release clause.

Like Krychowiak, Real Madrid's Karim Benzema has been consistently linked with a move to the Emirates, and more has been written on this potential transfer during the summer window than arguably any other deal. Former professional footballer Jan Aage Fjortoft is one of many reporting the move could still go through.

Wenger spoke on the topic of strikers on Friday, telling reporters he believes there is a shortage of class players at the position before explaining why it's difficult to sign some players from rich clubs:

"It is like in any deal. You want to buy someone you go to see the owner, if he doesn’t want to buy he doesn’t want to buy. In Europe today you maybe have 15 clubs with huge financial resources who don’t need the money."

He also told reporters he believes he has strong players at every position, indicating he would be happy to end the transfer window with the same core of players he currently has at his disposal.

The Gunners may not have enjoyed an excellent start to the 2015-16 campaign, but the same goes for a number of other clubs, including defending champions Chelsea. Arsenal finished last season in sensational form, and there's every reason to believe that same group of players is capable of much more this year.

Depth is always an issue, and adding another midfielder or a top-class striker wouldn't hurt Arsenal's chances of winning silverware, but this late in the window, it's difficult to strike a deal for a player who figures to be a big part of his current team's plans.

That said, Wenger expects new signings, and the Arsenal manager has shown in the past that he knows how to work last-minute deals, securing the services of Ozil and Danny Welbeck in back-to-back summer windows. Krychowiak and Benzema may not be the most likely options, but with Wenger pulling the strings, you never know who could arrive at the club next.

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