English Premier League Transfer Update: Arsenal Searching For a Center Back

With Arsenal center backs Thomas Vermaelen and Sebastien Squillaci both injured, Arsenal are in dire need of reinforcements in the center of defense. It is said that Vermaelen will be out of the team for four to six weeks, while Squillaci will be out for at least the rest of this month.

Arsenals only two fit regular first team center backs are Johan Djourou and Laurent Koscielny. Wenger has said that the former is not yet fit enough to play weekend and mid-week matches.

If this is still so, then Arsenal has risked too much by playing Djourou as much as they have in the past week or so.  The last thing Arsenal needs is to have Djourou have a set back or get re-injured, leaving only Koscielny fit at center back. This could effectively end Arsenal's title challenge.

If Arsenal do not reinforce the back line soon, they will have to resort to playing Alex Song out of position and relying on reserve players to fill the center back spot.

Arsene Wenger has seen the need and promised a signing; he needs to deliver soon. Arsene Wenger admits he has had “many offers” in his search for a centre back, but nothing has "clicked".

On Friday, the Arsenal manager suggested the defender he was looking to acquire would be “an insurance” for further injuries. However, that was before it was confirmed that Thomas Vermaelen would be sidelined for sometime after undergoing a “procedure”. Obviously, the need for a new center back is much greater now and isn’t just a matter of insurance anymore.

On Monday, Wenger admitted that little progress had been made despite some activity behind the scenes.

“No, it is still nowhere,” he said. “We get many offers but, at the moment, nothing concrete. I cannot tell you [about the type of player] at the moment because it has to click in my head and nothing has happened yet. If you look at the centre backs we have, they are quality—Djourou, Squillaci, Koscielny, Vermaelen. The quality of the player coming in, what will it be? Is it a complement to the players we have already? It’s very difficult to predict.”

What’s the delay? What is keeping Arsene from “clicking”? Is it a price issue? Surely there is a defender out there that can fill the needed slot for a decent price.

What do you think of this situation?