Arsenal Transfer News: Arsene Wenger Open to January Deals, Latest Rumours

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has reiterated the Gunners are open to recruiting reinforcements in January, but he admitted they will also be reliant on other clubs being willing to part with their players.

Per Arsenal's official Twitter feed, he said:

Arsenal fans will no doubt be relieved to hear Wenger is not ruling out doing some much-needed business in the winter window.

However, they might equally be worried the Frenchman's comments are reminiscent of those he made in the summer that the players good enough to improve Arsenal were not available—a summer in which he failed to sign a single outfield player.

Though the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil might be difficult to improve on, there are plenty of squad players who could be easily upgraded.

For example, the Gunners' only alternatives to Francis Coquelin are Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini, neither of whom are particularly inspiring these days, particularly as holding midfielders.

Martin Meissner/Associated Press

One possible target in this area is Borussia Monchengladbach's Granit Xhaka, according to the Daily Mail (h/t the Telegraph).

As Bundesliga expert Clark Whitney noted amid links to other clubs, the Swiss midfielder is a standout player for Gladbach:

Xhaka is supremely comfortable in possession and maintains exceptional distribution, per WhoScored.com:

The 23-year-old is not a typical enforcer—according to Squawka, he's only won 24 tackles from 70 attempted in the Bundesliga this season, but he wins possession back well through his impressive reading of the game having made 44 interceptions.

Being so important to the team, Wenger is correct that Gladbach will fight tooth and nail to keep hold of their star, so the Gunners may well be left ruing their inability to prise him away from Germany at the end of the window.

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The Telegraph also noted Wenger is "ready to make an offer" for Stade de Reims right-back Aissa Mandi.

French football expert Jonathan Johnson believes the 24-year-old had an excellent campaign last season, despite his side's struggles:

The Algeria international would likely be brought in as backup for Hector Bellerin, with Mathieu Debuchy seemingly nearing the exit door at the Emirates Stadium.

Mandi, equally competent at centre-back, is naturally a more defensive-minded player than Bellerin, but nevertheless could make a useful acquisition for Arsenal as he would offer further solidity to their back line.