We’re now one week into the January transfer window, and there are still no immediate signs of new recruits arriving at Arsenal. That has led to Gunners fans wondering aloud what they can expect from manager Arsene Wenger this month.

One player has already left the club. Lukas Podolski joined Inter Milan on loan, and it seems he could be followed by Yaya Sanogo: The French striker has been closely linked with a move to Bordeaux, although Wenger has told French paper L’Equipe (via Joe Short of the Daily Express) that he would prefer Sanogo to gain experience at another Premier League club. It remains to be seen where they can find an English club willing to take him.

Despite allowing two forwards to leave the club, it’s difficult to see Wenger bringing anyone in to replace them. Theo Walcott is back and available for selection, and Wenger will regard him as more than capable of plugging the gap left by two squad players.

With Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck, Alexis Sanchez, Joel Campbell, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Walcott in his squad, Wenger will believe he has more than enough attacking options. He may even be able to give the odd game to promising youngster Chuba Akpom, who will want some guarantee of first-team opportunities if he is to extend a contract that is due to expire this summer.

If not in attack, then where will Wenger look to strengthen? Well, for a long time, it appeared his priority would be a centre-half. Arsenal only have two senior central defenders in Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny, the latter of whom is struggling with a persistent Achilles injury. The likes of Calum Chambers, Nacho Monreal and Mathieu Debuchy have been called upon to fill in, but all are more comfortable at full-back.

However, in recent weeks, there have been indications that Wenger’s wish list has been reshaped. Koscielny’s renewed availability has coincided with a spate of injuries in midfield.

Speaking to David Hytner of The Guardian, Wenger appeared to confirm that was his biggest area of concern: “If you look at the number of games some players played and the injuries we have with Wilshere, Ramsey and Arteta, we are a bit short at the moment in midfield.”

It seems that Wenger would like to add a midfielder, but surely, he’s also conscious that he still needs a defender, too.

His problem is that he finds January an awkward time in which to buy. Wenger doesn’t like laying down money for an emergency option. In most cases, he’d rather wait until the summer than pay for someone who isn’t his first choice.

As he puts it, per Simon Rice of The Independent: “There is a need there [to enter the market] but the right opportunity has to come up. To buy, simply to buy, is not what we want to do but if the right opportunity comes up, we will do it.”

It seems Arsenal are set to be reactive rather than proactive in this window. They’ll have a list of targets and will hope one of them becomes available during the window. It’s unlikely that they’ll deviate from that shortlist: Wenger will not sign a player on a permanent basis if he is not a ratified and researched long-term target.

That suggests that, much like last January when they moved to sign Swedish midfielder Kim Kallstrom, Arsenal might end up with an emergency loan signing. Wenger might look for one player who can provide temporary cover in both midfield and defence, while he waits to secure higher-profile targets in the summer.

If Arsenal had a plan to spend big this January, one suspects we might have seen some evidence of it being set into motion already. Instead, it seems the club are waiting to see how the cards fall. It’s unlikely their primary targets will become available before the month is out, so Arsenal fans may have to make do with a single stopgap utility loan.

 

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