Arsenal transfer news: Arsene Wenger admits difficulty in finding top quality defenders in January

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has spoken about the difficulties facing the club in identifying a suitable defender to sign during the ongoing January transfer window.

The French manager is desperate to find cover for first-choice defenders Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker, especially after Mathieu Debuchy was ruled out for three months following the shoulder injury he sustained during Arsenal's clash against Stoke City last weekend.

Despite admitting that he wants to sign one or two players this month, Wenger has revealed that it is hard finding a defender of the right quality during the winter transfer window and believes all the top clubs are facing a similar problem. Another drawback according to the Gunners boss is that most of the clubs are unwilling to sell their best players in January.

"We are a big attraction, but if it was easy we would do it. We haven't found anyone. I am not the only one working on the case. It's not a supermarket where you go in and buy a defender, it's a market that is very restricted," Wenger said, as quoted by the Daily Mail.

"Players who can strengthen the best 10 teams in Europe, you don't find many and it's the same for everybody."

"Of course we have made enquiries and then you have a second handicap of who wants to sell their best players, especially a central defender, in the middle of the season. They say, 'OK, come back in June or July and maybe yes'," the 65-year-old manager explained.

However, Wenger believes that Arsenal can cope with the players they have as Calum Chambers and Nacho Monreal can play at right-back and centre-back respectively. But the manager admits that it is a huge risk not to sign anyone as Kieran Gibbs is also currently sidelined leaving one player as backup for two positions.

"We can, because we have Chambers, Mertesacker, Koscielny and Monreal, who can play centre-back."

"But we have now lost Debuchy, who could play centre-back, and Gibbs has been out. If we have another injury or two we will struggle. It's risky. It's too risky," Wenger concluded.