Arsenal Transfer News: Thierry Henry Expecting January Deals Amid Latest Rumours

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has backed his former club to dip into the winter transfer market and strengthen its ranks this January.

Writing in his Sun column, Henry picked out the Gunners' current injury crisis in central midfield as a particular area in which they might look to reinforce:

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It’s a good job Mathieu Flamini didn’t leave last summer, as looked likely. They would have a real problem in central midfield now without him. 

I would expect Arsene Wenger to buy a specialist in that position in January. Their injured stars will all come back into contention eventually. But Arsenal can’t rely on them — they have to plan for the rest of the season without Cazorla, Coquelin, Wilshere and Welbeck.

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Aaron Ramsey has spent time on the sidelines this season, while manager Arsene Wenger has also seen aged figures Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky out of action for the vast majority of the 2015-16 campaign.

It's a familiar storyline at the Emirates Stadium, but Henry added his old club "might never get a better chance than this" to claim the Premier League title, and winter additions could be key in that regard.

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

Wenger's side sit second to Premier League leaders Leicester City and can climb within two points of the Foxes if they beat Manchester City at home on Monday evening.

Henry will therefore be pleased to hear Wenger say he's "open-minded" when it comes to transfers this winter, per Goal.com, a time of the year notorious for being difficult to do business in:

"We are open-minded and not the only ones that can decide on the speed of transfers. We have to adapt to availabilities, but we are open to do something because we are short."

One of those being lined up by the Gunners is Inter playmaker Marcelo Brozovic, according to the Mirror's Chris Hatherall, despite the Nerazzurri only signing the player in January of this year.

Italian outlet Calcio Mercato reported the Croatian could move to north London for a fee of around €20 million following his spike in good form this season:

There's little doubt that stars such as Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez can pave the way to silverware, considering they've each done so in the past with Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively.

However, while Arsenal fans can be pleased with signing players of such great quality, it's replacing those talents when unavailable that's been Arsenal main concern for some years.

Joel Ryan/Associated Press

Cup constraints and the reluctance to change squads mid-season mean transfers are generally harder to negotiate come January, but Arsenal's inaction over the summer has created a need to spend next month.

Henry believes his former outfit need to reinvest in their engine room first and foremost, but the question is whether that advice will be taken on board by old mentor Wenger.